Smoke and Mirrors
by SatiricalIrony
Summary: Non-Mass. Sakura was promoted to ANBU wasn't she? Then why did everyone still treat her like a child? Sakura decides that she must take drastic measures to prove to everyone, and herself, that she is truly worthy of being a ninja for Konoha. Ita/Saku
1. The Promotion

**Smoke and Mirrors**

**Summary**: Non-Mass. Sakura was promoted to ANBU wasn't she? Then why did everyone still treat her like a child? Sakura decides that she must take drastic measures to prove to everyone, and herself, that she is truly worthy of being a ninja for Konoha. Ita/Saku Romance/Drama/Humor

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, all rights to Masashi Kishimoto, and I make no money from this story.

**AN: **Okay so, I wanted to clear up a few things before people start reading. Yes, I know that if they're in ANBU they should be given codenames, however I chose not to do that. Also, I could be writing the whole ANBU situation wrong, but for me it works in this story so at least try to just go along with it for the purposes of this story. I really don't want to read flames about how I'm wrong about this and wrong about that, so please just try to enjoy it. Also as for ages, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are 19 at this time, and Itachi is going to be 24. I'm gonna say that Kakashi is about 30, and yeah I'm probably wrong on age spacing and all that, but like I said before, just go along with it. Anyway I think that clears everything up, so just enjoy =).

**Update: 4/13/10: **Hey guys, I just wanted to let everyone know that I actually reposted chapters one and two, because I made a few changes to them. I added about 1000 words to each chapter, basically being more detailed and all that jazz. I made no plot changes or significant changes, it just made me feel better about my writing. It's not really necessary to go back and read it, I just wanted to inform everyone that I was trying to be a little more aware of my use of detail. So if you want to reread the chapters that's up to you, though it's not necessary =).

* * *

Chapter One: The Promotion

Tsunade smiled approvingly at the three competent ninja that currently stood in front of her desk. "Congratulations you three, I'm promoting all of you to ANBU. I know this has been a long road for all of you and I can only say how proud I am of all three of you for making it this far. I only have one rule, and that is absolutely no dying. If I hear that any one of you has died, I will personally make it my mission to find you in the afterlife and kill you again myself." Tsunade gave them all a warm smile, but they all knew that smile was saying "if you think I'm joking, you are sadly mistaken." Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all gave each other a look, knowing that if they disobeyed her "no dying" rule there would be hell to pay, somehow.

"You worry too much granny, we're all going to be fine!" Naruto stated, still calling Tsunade "granny" even though he knew she hated being called that. Tsunade's face seemed to tense for a second, contemplating reprimanding Naruto for speaking to her in such a manner, but she let it go, and his nonchalance almost made her smile again.

"I know you're going to be fine you idiot, but it makes me feel better to threaten you so I don't have to deal with any of you actually dying on me," Tsunade said, standing up from her chair. She moved around her desk and positioned herself in front of her three precious students. Though they had never officially been students of hers, she had closely monitored their progress, and felt a sense of parental pride as she looked them over. She first embraced Sakura, the girl who she taught almost everything she knew to, and the girl she viewed as a daughter. She then proceeded to embrace Sasuke; sure he'd been a pain in the ass along with Naruto, but she still thought of him almost as a son. Finally, she embraced Naruto, the stupid boy that meant more to her than anything in the world. She would never admit it, but his annoying little self had really worn off on her, and she came to love him just like he was her son. Sure, it was probably unprofessional how much she cared for each of these three special ninja, but when did Tsunade ever do anything by the book. Finally, she stood back and gave them all a once over.

"Congratulations again, and you can follow Kakashi as he'll take you to get your ANBU tattoos, as well as your gear and your masks. Remember you are now at my beck and call so always be prepared," Tsunade stated, giving them a final bow before they were ushered out of the room by Kakashi. The three followed Kakashi down a long hallway that seemed overly bare for being part of the Kage building. Not that they expect any ornate designs, but at least something on the wall would be more pleasant than plain grey walls. The silence was interrupted by Sakura, who could no longer keep her mouth shut.

"What are you doing here Kakashi-sensei, I thought you weren't part of ANBU anymore," Sakura said, looking up at their old sensei, confusion showing in her gaze.

"Well Sakura, I can't let you three have all the fun. I figured that if you three were going into ANBU, I might as well rejoin. Tsunade had no problem with it, and was glad to see me back in ANBU once again. Can't let my three favorite students go through ANBU all by themselves now can I? That would be quite unprofessional of me," Kakashi said, giving them all a smile; though hidden by his ever present mask, they knew it was a genuine smile, with a small hint of teasing.

"We'll never be rid of him Sakura, he's going to follow us around until the day we all die," Sasuke said, giving Kakashi a knowing look.

"Aw Sasuke, that hurts me. Why do you seem so eager to be rid of me!" Kakashi joked, feigning hurt by grasping where his heart would be and making a pained face.

"Well sensei, if you actually showed up on time to any training session we've ever had, maybe I wouldn't be so eager to be rid of you and your lame excuses," Sasuke retorted, as they were reaching the end of the hallway. Kakashi just laughed off Sasuke's comment, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to defend himself there, as Sasuke was quite correct on his appraisal of Kakashi.

"Alright guys, just pass through here and someone back there will give you the ANBU tattoos. Each of you has already been assigned a mask, and I'll meet up with you in Tsunade's office after all that is done to finalize everything," Kakashi said, turning away from his ex students, and waving over his shoulder.

Sakura, still being slightly confused asked, "Kakashi are the four of us going to be on a team together again?"

Kakashi turned back around to respond to Sakura's question. "Well Sakura, I can't exactly tell you what the teams are going to be. Tsunade has set up everything and I think she wants to keep it all a surprise for you." Sakura nodded her head in understanding, and followed her boys through the door to receive their tattoos. This room seemed just as bare as the hallway. They guessed Tsunade didn't care enough to furnish or decorate this place any, as very few people actually had the privilege of seeing the building in its entirety. They figured there might be at least some chairs to sit in while they received their tattoos, but alas they were forced to stand, as no chairs seemed to be occupying the incredibly empty room. Sasuke and Naruto both had their tattoos placed on their left shoulders, while Sakura had hers placed on her right. It was the ANBU's way of distinguishing between genders while their faces were covered with masks. None of them made a sound while they were receiving their tattoos, as all of them had their fair share of pain, and this wasn't something serious to them.

After that was done, they were all directed into another room, where their masks were sitting. Ironically, and slightly annoyingly, their masks were placed on chairs. '_Funny how our masks can sit on chairs but we're forced to stand to get a tattoo_', Sakura thought, rolling her eyes slightly at the situation. It was laughable that simple masks were held in such a high esteem, though she respected the position that those simple masks held. There were not huge differences in the three of their masks, as all of them were the basic cat shape, though the red markings on all of their masks differed in some way.

"Well, what exactly do we do now?" Naruto asked after they had all picked up a mask.

Sasuke smirked slightly at Naruto, as it never surprised him how stupid and oblivious the blonde could be sometimes. "We have to go back to Tsunade's office so we can be assigned to teams you dobe. You never listen do you?"

"Come on you two don't you start fighting today. Any other day is fine, but I don't wanna have to deal with breaking up a fight between you two idiots on the day that we got promoted," Sakura said, cracking her knuckles a bit and letting the idiots know that she was serious. Naruto and Sasuke promptly shut up, knowing they didn't wanna invoke Sakura's wrath. Sakura was most certainly not the small weak girl she used to be. After studying under Tsunade for so long, Sakura had definitely learned how to put the boys in their place, and she had grown into quite a strong and capable ninja. Not only was she an incredibly skilled medic-nin, but she had thoroughly developed her taijutsu, and could easily give them both a run for their money. Sakura smiled when both of her boys had calmed down, and she proceeded to walk back to Tsunade's office, with Naruto and Sasuke in tow.

Sakura knocked politely on Tsunade's office door, not wanting to barge in like Naruto would have done. Tsunade spoke, allowing them entrance into her office. Though Sakura knew she didn't have to be so formal with her shishou, she still wanted to give the Hokage the respect she knew she deserved. Sakura opened the door and was surprised to see Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Itachi standing by Tsunade's desk, talking quietly with one another. Tsunade looked up as the three of them entered her office once more, and the whispers between the three guests had ended abruptly.

"Ah that took you no time at all. Well I know you're all probably curious as to what teams I'm assigning you to. Well, as for Naruto and Sasuke, I figured it would be idiotic to separate the two of you. Even though you fight so much you excel in battle together and that is something we cannot afford to lose. That's why I'm assigning you two to a team with Shikamaru, and he will be your captain. I figured the only other person in the world that could manage to control you two besides Sakura would be Shikamaru. Plus he excels in most everything, so though you don't actually have a medic-nin on your team, I'm confident in all of your abilities," Tsunade explained, as Shikamaru seemed to roll his eyes a little bit at having to be so troubled with the two idiots. "As for you Sakura, you excel as a medic-nin but thanks to your boys your taijutsu is not something to be laughed at, so I decided that your abilities would be better suited to being on a team with Itachi and Kakashi, Itachi being your captain. I figured you wouldn't mind having to take care of your old sensei either," Tsunade seemed to laugh a little at the thought, while also laughing at the look of horror that crossed Sakura's face, as she was expecting no other reaction.

"Aw come on Tsunade you can't throw me on a team with Kakashi-sensei again, he's so much trouble, and you know that I can't stand Itachi! Ugh this is going to be the worst. I can't believe I'm going to be forced to keep the two of you knuckleheads alive. I think I prefer being on a team with Naruto and Sasuke," Sakura complained, sighing and lowering her head to the ground, knowing there was no way to get out of this situation, she conceded defeat.

"Hey come on now Sakura it's not too bad is it? At least you get to spar with Kakashi and Itachi, and maybe try and put them in their place," Naruto stated, attempting to comfort her, reaching an arm out to pat her on the back slightly. The look she threw his way made him immediately remove the offending appendage.

Sakura did not seem even remotely appeased by Naruto's statement. "I can't believe I'm still stuck with the pervert sensei and the asshole that's teased me since I became a ninja. It couldn't get any worse."

"Oh come now dear Sakura I know that I do not annoy you that badly," Itachi stated, walking over to Sakura and putting his hand on her shoulder; a small glint of playfulness in his eyes.

"Don't touch me you stupid asshole," Sakura retorted, throwing his arm off her shoulder. "All you've ever done is mock me and annoy me since the day I met you! Everyone else is fooled by your charm and looks but not me. I see you for what you are, an arrogant self absorbed asshole," Sakura said, storming out of the room, making sure to slam the door on her way out to make her stance on the issue evident.

"Well, that went better than expected don't we all think?" Kakashi laughed, trying to lighten the mood up a little bit, scratching his head slightly as he spoke. They all knew to leave Sakura alone while she was fuming like this.

Sasuke sighed, knowing it was on him and Naruto to somehow appease their pink haired friend. "Come on dobe we have to find Sakura and calm her down before she destroys a few buildings." For once, Naruto didn't argue and just followed after Sasuke.

Itachi, Kakashi, and Shikamaru were left in Tsunade's office after the departure of the three best friends. "Itachi you shouldn't tease her so much you know how she gets. She's an incredibly strong ninja now, especially since she was admitted into ANBU, and there's only so much teasing Sakura can take before she explodes. And I'd prefer she be able to keep a straight head when she's out on missions," Tsunade sighed, slightly regretting her decision to put Sakura on a team with Itachi. But Tsunade knew, of all the people in ANBU, Itachi and Kakashi would be the best at handling Sakura, as well as keeping her safe. Tsunade would never admit it to Sakura, but she still worried about her safety, regardless of how skilled she had become.

"I apologize Hokage-sama, but I just can't resist riling her up like that sometimes, it's just so easy," Itachi explained, shrugging his shoulders slightly. He couldn't explain to the hokage why seeing Sakura like that brought him joy.

"Yes I do understand how easy she is to upset, but now I want all of you out of here so I can finish up some paperwork," Tsunade stated, dismissing them all from her office with a quick shake of her hand.

* * *

Sakura went straight through town and right out to the familiar training grounds. Luckily the one she chose was completely empty, so she didn't have to deal with questioning looks. She walked over to the first tree in her way and punched it so hard it came out of the ground and fell a few yards away from her. Sure, Tsunade would probably get mad at her for having to repair all the lost and damaged trees, but Sakura could care less right now—better that she punch trees than punch people.

"Ugh I can't believe I'm stuck with him," Sakura fumed, while punching a hole through another tree. She moved out of the way just in time as the tree came crashing down. Sometimes she didn't realize how much force she put into her punches. It always seemed that when Sakura wanted to be alone to fume, someone always showed up, and that someone normally happened to be her best friend Ino. She loved Ino, she really did, but she had such awful timing.

"Wow forehead what's gotten you so riled up this time?" Ino asked, sitting down against another tree, a few yards away from Sakura; she knew better than to get too close when Sakura was like this.

"That stupid asshole Itachi. Apparently Tsunade thought it would be a good idea to put me on his team for ANBU along with Kakashi." Sakura half shouted, sending another tree flying off into the distance.

"Wowwww Sakura you hit the jackpot. You do realize how hot Kakashi and Itachi are right? You have got to be the luckiest kunoichi in the history of kunoichi. I would give anything to be in your shoes and be able to be around those two all the time," Ino sighed, going off into her own dreamland of shinobi hotness.

"Oh come on Ino you know how much I hate Itachi, he's such an asshole. And just because they're both hot doesn't make everything okay. That thing I had for Itachi was so long ago I almost don't even remember it now," Sakura stated, trying to defend herself. Luckily, she seemed to have calmed down enough that she was no longer punishing the trees.

"Aw Sakura you can't forget the times we would sit around and plan out our weddings. Remember you always wanted to be with Itachi because he was so tough and mysterious, and I was going to be with Sasuke, and when we were both married we were going to be sisters! You can't forget awesome memories like that," Ino said, smiling at the memory.

"Okay well I didn't forget it, I just like to pretend I never actually had a thing for that idiot. Anyone would think Itachi was attractive, but as soon as you get to know him you realize that he's just an asshole. All he ever did when we were younger was pick on me and treat me like I was a child. Even now, he doesn't see me for who I am. I've matured immensely from when I was twelve years old. I'm nineteen years old now for god's sake, it's not okay to treat me like I'm a child!" Sakura slightly shouted, getting riled up once again. It killed her that she was nineteen and still being treated and viewed as a child by Itachi. Just because he was a few years older than her didn't mean he could treat her like a kid. At least Kakashi treated her like an adult, though Kakashi had been around to see her grow and mature as a person.

"Well Sakura, just think of this as your chance to prove to Itachi that you really have matured and grown up, and maybe he'll stop teasing you all the time," Ino offered, giving Sakura a small smile as comfort. She knew how easy it was to piss off her best friend so she tried to say things that would at least appease Sakura slightly.

"You're right Ino, now is the perfect opportunity to prove to him that I'm a damn good kunoichi and I deserve to be respected, and not laughed at," Sakura stated, finally seeming to calm down a little bit. Sakura had lost the little crush she had on Itachi long ago, and now she just had an immense desire to prove to him that she wasn't a child any longer, and she was a force to be reckoned with. Sakura was always looked down on as the weak link on the team, but over the years she had rivaled her teammates in both strength and ability, and now was her chance to prove this to the bane of her existence, Itachi.

* * *

_-Seven Years Prior-_

Sakura stumbled her way through the Uchiha living quarters, trying to find Sasuke-kun's home. She was slightly overwhelmed, at how large this compound was, and could only hope that she was going the right way. She finally found what she assumed to be the right house, and went to knock on the large door. She was half expecting and hoping that Sasuke would open the door, but the guy who opened the door was definitely not Sasuke. His older brother Itachi was the one who got to the door first, and he looked down at the young girl standing there. She seemed to tremble a bit under his intense gaze, and looked away, unable to stare into his piercing dark eyes.

"Well, well, who might you be," Itachi asked, smirking slightly at the young pink haired kunoichi that stood shyly at his door.

The twelve year old Sakura replied nervously, "My name is Sakura Haruno and I'm looking for Sasuke. Is he around?"

"Ah so you're the new weak link on my little brothers team huh? You definitely look like a weak little girl, are you sure you're a kunoichi?" Itachi laughed, obviously mocking her.

Sakura glared up at him, wanting to say something to prove him wrong, but she couldn't even speak when she saw him looking at her like that; his gaze was just too intense to stare at directly. He had to be the most attractive ninja she had ever seen, and she knew something about attractive ninja, as her best friend Ino never seemed to shut up about them. She tried to ignore his mocking and just asked again for Sasuke, still staring at the ground so as to avoid his eyes.

"Yeah he's here, I'll go and find him. See you later weakling." Itachi mocked, giving her a small wave before retrieving Sasuke from the depths of the house.

Sakura could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she was mocked over and over by him, but she held them at bay, knowing that crying would only make him mock her more. She decided right there and then that she would prove him wrong, no matter what it took.

* * *

"Thanks Ino I feel much better now. I don't know what it is about him, but he always manages to get me so angry. I hate that he can manipulate me so easily, but now that he's my captain I'll do everything I can to prove him wrong," Sakura said, finally feeling like this was her chance to shove everything in his face, and prove to him just how strong she actually was. This was her opportunity to be free from the constant string of insults and mockery, and she had every intention of taking full advantage of it.

"No worries Sakura, just don't let him get under your skin so much. You're a strong ninja and you'll prove him wrong," Ino smiled, giving Sakura a warm hug, embracing her like she was a sister.

"Well Ino I better go and find Naruto and Sasuke, since I'm sure those two are looking for me. . . but thanks for all the help, I'll see you later!" Sakura said, running off back towards town to find her boys, who were, no doubt, on the lookout for broken buildings.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke had been searching around for Sakura, and were quite pleased, and mildly shocked, to see that at least no buildings had been destroyed as of yet. After awhile, they figured that Sakura would come to find them, and they went to the local bar that they always met at after missions, knowing that would probably be the first place Sakura looked for them. Naruto and Sasuke entered the bar and got a table for the two of them and ordered a couple drinks, saving a few for Sakura, knowing that she would show up sooner or later.

Sooner than they expected, Sakura entered the bar and went straight to their usual table. "Hey guys," she greeted calmly, content finally showing on her face. They both nodded to her, saying hello in their own special way. They also wanted to keep the conversation at a minimum, in case they set Sakura off once again.

"Feeling better now Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, though he knew she definitely seemed a lot calmer than she was earlier, and she seemed to have reigned in her emotions to a more acceptable level. Sakura took a seat and took a sip of whatever drink they had set out for her, enjoying it for a moment before speaking up.

"Yeah I'm better now, actually had a talk with Ino about stuff and it calmed me down. I'm just going to deal with this situation and make the best of it. And now is my chance to prove to Sasuke's asshole brother that I'm a force to be reckoned with," Sakura smiled, taking another sip of the drink, letting the alcohol slide down her throat. Sasuke and Naruto raised their glasses up to "cheers" with Sakura. Even Sasuke knew how much of an asshole his brother could be to Sakura, and was all for her getting her revenge of sorts; hopefully without too much bodily harm to his brother.

"Well guys, I say we drink the night away and celebrate our promotions. Even though we're not on the same team anymore, you guys will always be my brothers, and I'll always be looking out for you," Sakura said, raising up her glass to connect it with the boys' in a toast. "Here, here Sakura!" They both said in response to her toast. The three of them continued to drink and laugh the night away, all seemingly content with their current situations.

* * *

The light that came through her window in the morning was like a spear of light that seemed to jab itself right through her head. She groaned slightly, feeling the after affects of her long night of drinking. She threw her covers over her head and tried to hide until that pesky light went away. She was about to drift off back into dreamland when a loud knocking at her door startled her back awake.

"Who the fuck is it," she groaned out. This was definitely not the right time to be knocking on Sakura's door. Before she could even get up and get out of bed her door was opened and in strolled Mr. Self Absorbed himself. Just what Sakura needed. . .

"Good morning princess," Itachi said, giving her his trademark smirk that always seemed to be planted on his face. "Time to wake up, we've got training in an hour. I figured that now would be a good time to start training our new team before Hokage-sama gives us any missions." Itachi had a good point, but god could his timing be any worse. Sakura wanted to throw a kunai in his face, but thought better of it, seeing as in her hung-over state she had a small chance of escaping the coming torment.

"Itachi you idiot get out of my bedroom I sleep naked, and I am not about to let you see anything. So march your happy ass outside and wait for me," Sakura snapped, giving him a look that made him decide not to argue with her. Sakura got up and quickly got dressed, throwing on her usual clothing, as well as strapping on her new katana, given to her for becoming an ANBU operative. Though Sakura had trained in taijutsu openly, she had also secretly been training on how to use a katana. She had hoped one day that she would be given the opportunity to be admitted into the ANBU, and knew that the use of a katana was one of their main assets. She had planned to surprise everyone with her excellent skills, however, now that Itachi was her captain, she was even more excited to throw it in his face, and show him just how much this useless, weak girl had improved.

As soon as she was dressed and standing, she realized she had yet to take care of her hangover. She quickly set to work on eliminating her headache through use of her chakra—oh the usefulness of being a medic-nin. When everything seemed to be in working order, she excited her bedroom and met Itachi out in her living room, where he was fixing himself a cup of coffee.

"Just making yourself right at home aren't you?" Sakura asked, knowing it was pretty pointless to yell at him when he'd already finished making himself a cup, though she slightly wished she had her own cup of coffee right about now.

"Well if it's any consolation I made you a cup too, seeing as how I know you got a little drunk last night when you were out with my brother and Naruto," Itachi offered, handing her the coffee. To say that Sakura was shocked was probably putting it mildly. She looked down at the cup of coffee in her hand in absolute confusion, wondering who this imposter was, and what happened to the real Itachi. She took a questioning sip of the coffee and wondered how he managed to make it exactly how she liked it. Sakura like creamer and sugar in her coffee and Itachi had managed to put the exact amount she liked. She wanted to yell at him for taking over her kitchen like he owned the place, but with coffee in hand, she really had no room to complain.

"Alright what gives, why are you trying to be nice to me all of a sudden. Where's the mocking and the rudeness that I've come to expect from his highness," Sakura stated sarcastically, wondering what on earth he was up to. Part of her wanted to just ignore random bout of niceness but the other part of her was immensely curious about what brought this on.

"Well Sakura I guess I won't make that mistake again, if you are so opposed to this niceness. I just figured after your outburst yesterday that I might go slightly easier on you today, though I can take that right back," Itachi stated, throwing the ball back in her hands.

"I never said I was opposed to the niceness, it just weird's me out. All I ever expect from you is asshole comments. I never expected that you would. . . make me coffee," Sakura stated, taking another quick sip of her coffee, enjoying the taste she had come to love, and need on a daily basis. Itachi gave her the trademark smirk and told her to hurry up and drink her coffee and meet him down at the training fields. Sakura nodded her head in understanding and sat down to finish her coffee in peace.

She left her apartment and walked down several flights of stairs. She always enjoyed living higher up in apartments, because not only did she feel safer living up higher, but it also gave her easier access to the roof. After a long day at the hospital, or long missions, she always loved going up on the roof and staring at the stars for awhile. It seemed to give her a little bit of peace when she had such hard days. She quickly made her way down to the training grounds, not wanting to be too late and upset his highness.

She arrived at the training grounds to see that shockingly enough, Kakashi was there with Itachi. "Kakashi. . . What are you doing here. . .On. . . Time," Sakura stuttered out, the surprise apparent on her face. Kakashi never showed up for anything on time, even missions that were of the utmost importance he managed to be at least ten minutes late for. But here he was, on time for a simple training session? It made no sense to her. She wondered silently if hell had finally frozen over.

"Well Sakura, I believe that the things Itachi can do to me for being late are much scarier than what the hokage can do, so yeah. . . I decided I would show up on time for his training," Kakashi stated honestly, shrugging slightly, and moving to put away the Icha Icha book that was currently in his possession. Kakashi was really afraid of no one, but having been a part of ANBU previously, he knew what Itachi was capable of, and he definitely didn't want that being directed at him. "Plus I couldn't wait to see the two of you spar."

"So that's the plan then, you're going to watch Itachi and I spar?" Sakura asked, inclining her head to the right slightly in a questioning gesture.

"Well Sakura I figured that since the Katana is probably new to you, that we could get you started on learning how to properly control it," Itachi stated, figuring like everyone else that Sakura was unable to use the Katana. She decided to go along with it and let Itachi think she had no idea what she was doing.

"Oh I guess that's a good idea _captain_," she added with a bit of sarcasm. She unsheathed the katana, and got in her fighting stance. "Go ahead, attack me." Sakura's cockiness was slightly shocking to Itachi, as he had expected her to be a little more hesitant; though, he had to admit, he liked seeing Sakura so confident.

Itachi gave her a questioning look, but was glad to see his team member was all for learning. He unsheathed his katana and went right for her neck, a blow which she easily blocked. "Nice," he said appreciatively. "At least you can block the most simple of attacks." And there it was, the asshole was back with a vengeance. That little comment made Sakura go overboard, and she threw an attack of her own. Itachi easily blocked the violent attack, but was mildly impressed that Sakura took initiative and attempted to attack him. He decided that since she seemed to be so willing he would step up the attack a little. He quickly disappeared from her sight, and reappeared right behind her, though Sakura sensed him coming and quickly blocked his attack from over her shoulder. Itachi jumped back a little and asked her questioningly, "Did you just really block an attack from behind without even looking at me?" To be frank, he wasn't expecting her to have any weapons skill at all.

"I think you should stop underestimating me Itachi. Just because everyone is under the impression that I have no knowledge of how to use a katana, does not mean it's actually fact," Sakura stated, as she threw his own trademark smirk right back at him.

"Alright princess, well you asked for it," Itachi said confidently, knowing Sakura was not yet aware of just how skilled Itachi was in this area of battle. Itachi and Sakura continued to battle it out, while Kakashi sat on the sidelines. For once his precious book was tucked away, because he was quite curious to see how this certain fight was going to end. After awhile he could see the Sakura was getting more fatigued as she attempted to block blow after blow; which Itachi relentlessly threw her way. Kakashi smirked slightly, knowing that Sakura was actually giving Itachi a run for his money. It was such a rare occurrence to find someone who was able to actually give Itachi a fight, and he was so proud to see that it was his very own Sakura.

While Kakashi was appraising her from a distance, Sakura was slowly thinking that she had gotten in over her head. She knew she was skilled, but Itachi had such a crazy amount of stamina. He made it look like he wasn't even slightly tired, while she was breathing quite heavily; though she was trying her best to hide the signs of fatigue, she was mildly failing. She knew she was going to have to land a blow soon to finally end this sparing session. She hid herself behind a tree and tried to sense where Itachi was coming from. The sword was against her neck before she could even sense he was there. Itachi had her pinned against the tree, his katana pressing into her neck, with enough pressure to cause her not to move an inch.

"Well, it looks like you've lost this round princess," Itachi smirked, closing in on her slightly. She had no idea why Itachi would be standing so close to her. His eyes looked straight into her own, his face mere inches away from hers, when he pulled back and said, "You did really well today, I guess I can say that I'm glad to have someone who knows what they're doing on my team. He seemed completely unfazed by the previous proximity of their faces. Kakashi walked over to them and complimented Sakura.

"Wow Sakura I'm so impressed, when did you have time to learn how to use a katana?"

"Well, I was hoping that one day I would be appointed to ANBU, so I figured it would be good to learn," Sakura explained, slightly embarrassed from the praise she was receiving; though it felt nice to have her former sensei looking at her with such appreciation. And for the first time in her life, she felt like she saw a glimmer of appreciation in Itachi's eyes as well. Overall, she decided the day had gone pretty well for her.

The three of them parted ways after they exited the training field, Itachi's eyes seeming to follow Sakura for longer than deemed necessary for a normal goodbye. She couldn't shake the feeling she had earlier when Itachi had her pinned against the tree. What was this new feeling she was having towards the man who had been the bane of her existence for as long as she could remember. She tried to shake off the feeling as she made her way to lunch to meet with Naruto and Sasuke. '_What an odd day'_, she thought, trying to come up with various explanations for Itachi's weird behavior, and could find nothing that seemed to make sense.

* * *

**AN:** Alrighty well that was a pretty long chapter. I realize it's kind of a slow start, and I hope people can bear with me considering I haven't actually written anything since about 2004, but I would appreciate some feedback on what people think of my story idea. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it and until next time. . . Ja ne!


	2. The Bonding

**Smoke and Mirrors**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, all rights to Masashi Kishimoto, and I make no money from this story.

**AN:** Alrighty so to start off I wanted to say, in response to Leale's review, that yes Itachi is OOC in this story. I'm sorry I didn't say anything about that previously, but I kinda figured it would be known that Itachi and Sasuke are much less emo in this story considering the "non-massacre." But there you go, I guess you've now been warned. Also I wanted to thank the people who reviewed: Kosue1501, mageuchiha6990, Leale, and LadyNorth76, you're reviews made me want to start writing chapter two right away, and they are very much appreciated. Also thanks to everyone who favorite'd and alerted my story. You guys all rock for reading this =)

Also, quick explanation of the title, cause I wasn't sure if people would actually get the "smoke and mirrors" thing. It's a reference to an illusion basically. Like, magicians use smoke and mirrors to create their illusions, so just wanted to cover that so everyone got it. Now enjoy the new chapter =)

* * *

Chapter Two: The Bonding

"I hate him!" Sakura shouted. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!" Sakura was once again fuming. Tsunade sighed; she should have expected this kind of reaction from her beloved student.

"Sakura if you would just calm down for one goddamn minute and let me explain this before you go flying off the handle . . . that would make this situation much easier for the both of us," Tsunade sighed again, hoping to calm Sakura for at least a small amount of time so she would be able to explain this situation more clearly. "Now Sakura really, these outbursts of yours are quite unsightly, and I would prefer if you were able to at least keep yourself mildly calm in my presence."

"I apologize shishou, I just can't help it when the subject of conversation leads to the person I absolutely despise, but I will attempt to keep myself under control while you . . . explain this situation," Sakura stated, giving in, taking a long deep breath, and attempting to calm herself down. The last thing she needed was her shishou yelling at her, as that woman could be downright terrifying.

Tsunade sighed again, hoping this time she would be able to explain without being completely interrupted. "Listen this is something that we have always done. You have to understand that we need to ensure the utmost cooperation and teamwork from each of our ANBU squads. It is not widely known, because the point of this exercise is for it to be a surprise for each team, so they don't have time to plan out what they are going to do, and how they will react to the situation. I can only explain the basic aspects of this exercise to you, as the rest will be a surprise."

"But shishou is this really necessary? I've worked with Kakashi for as long as I can remember, and as for Itachi, though I hate him I can still respect working with him. Why do we need to be put through such a test?" Sakura asked, hoping that she would somehow be able to get out of this.

"Yes Sakura, for the last time, this is necessary. Now shut your trap and let me explain." Tsunade had tried twice to attempt to explain the mission to Sakura, but each time had been interrupted—interruption was not something Tsunade handled very well. "Now, as I said previously, the main point of this mission is to ensure the cooperation and teamwork of each squad. The outcome of this mission will decide if the team we put together is actually a good match, so it's very important. And it's only for two weeks, and if you can survive that long, your team should be fine. We will have you transported to a remote region, with minimal supplies, and you will need to survive there for two weeks. One week surviving in whatever terrain we throw you in, and you have one week to make your way back to Konoha. You, Kakashi, and Itachi will all be called in tonight for a medical exam at the hospital, and you will depart for the mission tomorrow. Is that understood?" The stern look that plastered Tsunade's face screamed to Sakura that she had better understand and give no more lip on the matter. It was happening whether Sakura liked it or not, and that was that.

Sakura's brain was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts; part of her wanting to terribly to argue back, but the other part of her knowing that if she wanted to stay alive for today than she had better let it go. If it were any other mission she would be fine with it, but the fact that it was just a "training" mission—and in Sakura's eyes a pointless one—made Sakura very opposed to the whole ordeal. Sakura lowered her head in defeat—her better judgment telling her to just let it go—and said, "Yes shishou, I understand."

"Good, now I don't want to have to re-explain this to Kakashi and Itachi, so inform them that they must be present at the hospital tonight for the checkup. You are dismissed Sakura," Tsunade said, motioning to Sakura that she was now free to leave. Sakura sighed, knowing there was nothing left to say, and left her shishou in peace. She would find a way to deal with this unfortunate situation, or she would just have to kill her so called 'teammate'.

* * *

Sakura found Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke sitting at Ichiraku's as always; Naruto had a tendency to drag everyone around him to his favorite place, and Sakura was surprised that Shikamaru wasn't there. Naruto looked up to see Sakura approaching, and enthusiastically waved her over.

"Sakura-chan! Come eat with us!" Naruto shouted earnestly, throwing his arms around slightly as if she couldn't see him. Sakura laughed a little, as she expected nothing less from Naruto and his love of ramen. Naruto always had the remarkable ability to make her smile when she needed it most, and for that she loved him dearly. Sakura took a seat and ordered herself a bowl of ramen; she figured she might as well eat while she was here.

"So Sakura-chan what was your meeting with granny all about?" Naruto asked, his mouth shoved full with ramen, not realizing nor caring that bits of his beloved food were falling out of his mouth.

"Well, apparently we have a two week long mission to an undisclosed location, where we have to survive as a team," Sakura explained. "Kakashi, Tsunade wanted me to inform you that we have to be at the hospital tonight for a checkup, and I guess we are departing for the mission tomorrow. Oh, and if you see Itachi let him know as well." Kakashi nodded his head in understanding, knowing Sakura wanted to avoid Itachi as much as humanly possible. On normal occasion, Kakashi might find a little bit of joy in making Sakura deal with Itachi, but today he was going to let her off the hook.

"So it's like a bonding mission?" Sasuke asked, speaking up for the first time. Though Sasuke was not nearly as talkative as Naruto, he was not a mute, and moreso spoke when he deemed it necessary. Sasuke could be especially loud and annoying when him and Naruto fought, which drove Sakura up the wall. She sighed just thinking about all the trouble they gave her, and how much she would miss having them on her team. She trusted them both with her life, and that kind of trust was not easily given.

"Tsunade didn't really elaborate too much on the mechanics of it, she just told me that we had a week to stay in whatever location we were assigned, and then we had another week to get back home," Sakura explained, wishing that they had more information about it. None of them were used to going on missions where they were left completely in the dark, their guesses the only thing occupying their mind. "I still think it's slightly pointless. . . I mean obviously I can work with Kakashi just fine. We've only been working together for what. . . seven years now. And as much as I can't stand Itachi, I know well enough to work with him on a mission," Sakura sighed for what seemed like the tenth time today, and stared down into her bowl of ramen, staring at the worn down reflection that gazed back at her.

"Did Tsunade tell you if we would be doing a similar type of mission?" Sasuke asked, a curious, questioning expression enveloping his features. He thought for a moment, and decided that he wouldn't much mind the mission if they were assigned something similar. He respected Shikamaru as both a teammate and a leader, and this type of mission would show him exactly what Shikamaru was capable of. And though him and his dobe fought constantly, he couldn't say he didn't enjoy their bickering, and could—for the most part—stand being on long missions with him—he did have years of practice after all.

"No she didn't say anything to me about it, though I would imagine since you guys are a newly formed ANBU team as well, that you would be put through the same bullshit," Sakura replied, spooning some of the delicious soup into her waiting mouth.

"Aw Sakura it's not going to be that bad. We just have to sit around wherever they put us for a week, and get back home. It's the same type of thing we always do, though this time we have no actual mission. Sounds like a relaxing getaway to me, and I'm sure that you and Itachi can manage to get along for two weeks. And don't worry I'll be there to keep you two in line," Kakashi said, laughing a little and giving her a reassuring smile. The last thing he needed was a pissed off Sakura before they left for any type of mission, so he was doing his best to cheer her up a bit.

"Well, I guess you could be right Kakashi. . . Maybe we'll actually get put somewhere nice and we can just camp out and relax for a week. Now that you put it that way, it doesn't seem so bad. Thanks Kaka-sensei." The thought made Sakura smile a bit, and she was grateful that Kakashi was trying so desperately to cheer her up.

"Now, now Sakura. . . you don't have to call me 'sensei' anymore. We're now on the same level, so please drop the sensei, you make me feel so old!" Kakashi complained, finally glad to be rid of the endearment that he had dealt with for too many years.

"Haha sorry Kakashi I forget sometimes. You were my sensei for so long it's a hard habit to kick. But I'll try to remember. Don't want you feeling like the old geezer you are," Sakura said, unable to resist the urge to tease him slightly. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but crack up a little at her joke, as they all knew how sensitive Kakashi was concerning his age.

Before Kakashi could come up with a witty comeback, Shikamaru decided to grace them with his presence. "Ah Shika! There you are! I tried to find you earlier to invite you to Ichiraku with us, but you were nowhere to be found," Naruto said, halfway shouting even though Shikamaru was standing right next to them.

"Come on Naruto I'm standing right here you don't need to yell. And I told you to stop calling me Shika, it's horrible. . ." Shikamaru complained, not liking the new nickname Naruto had given him. Naruto wrinkled his brow and pouted slightly, but another bite of his ramen seemed to cure this short lasting bout of sadness.

"So what brings you here Shikamaru? I thought you didn't like ramen." Sasuke stated the obvious fact; Shikamaru was more of a loner, and avoided group meetings like the plague.

"I don't particularly care for ramen, but I came here looking for you two, as I have some information to deliver," Shikamaru explained, taking a seat next to Sakura, and placed his elbows on the table to rest. He leaned forward so he could look at Naruto and Sasuke, and continued on with his explanation. "Tsunade called me to her office to tell me that we have to go to the hospital tonight for a medical checkup, because we have some survival mission tomorrow."

"Ah well you don't have to worry about explaining it, because Sakura came here to tell Kakashi the same thing," Sasuke replied, letting Shikamaru off the hook.

"Cool! So we're on the same mission as Sakura-chan. It sounds like fun I can't wait," Naruto said, seemingly quite excited about the prospect of going on said mission. Sasuke and Shikamaru both sighed, as Naruto was always so excitable over the smallest things. No matter what the situation, Naruto always tended to have huge reactions to everything; though, it definitely brought everyone some laughs, so no one really minded his outbursts.

"Well, I'm assuming we are not going to be placed in the same area as Sakura and Kakashi, but the point of the mission will be the same," Shikamaru explained. Naruto nodded his head in understanding, and Sasuke copied his simple action. Shikamaru really saw no point in staying at the ramen place any longer than need be, so he decided to take his leave before Naruto came up with excuses to make him stay around. He quickly stood up and straightened out his clothing, preparing to take his leave.

"Well guys, I've got some things to take care of, so I'll see you later tonight. Tsunade said to be there around 7pm, so don't be late. I don't want my ass getting reamed for your laziness," Shikamaru stated, walking away and waving to them from over his shoulder, all the while keeping his back turned to them. It seemed the conversation was now over with Shikamaru, and he wasn't waiting around any longer.

"He's so cold sometimes," Sakura said after Shikamaru had gone far enough so that their voices would no longer reach his sharp ears. "I mean Shikamaru is such a genius, but I wish he'd be a little more personable sometimes."

"Well, there's nothing you can do to change his personality. I'm fine with him not talking too much, considering I have to live with Naruto, and he talks enough for the both of them," Sasuke said, smiling a little while pretending to hate on Naruto. Naruto smacked him upside the head, and went back to eating, as he was now on his third bowl of ramen. Sakura decided, herself included, that Naruto was probably the only person who could do such a thing and live to tell about it.

"Jesus Naruto, I hope you're paying for all those," Kakashi said, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head, moving to a more comfortable position. He had been stuck with the bill too many times to count, and did not want to pay for Naruto's habit of over eating. Naruto looked up at him and smirked, an expression Kakashi did not want to see cross his face. Naruto had figured Kakashi knew he would be paying in the first place. He quickly gulped down his last bowl of ramen, and ran away, presumably back home.

"Naruto! Dammit! I'm not paying for all this shit!" Kakashi shouted, though Naruto was already long gone.

"You just had to say something didn't you Kakashi? You knew as soon as you said something about it that Naruto would run away. It's what he always does," Sasuke said, thinking that Kakashi would have finally learned his lesson. Kakashi sighed, and regretfully pulled out some money.

"That stupid kid is gonna make me broke with his eating habits," Kakashi complained, finally getting up from his seat, stretching out slightly as they had been sitting for quite some time. "Well Sakura, I guess I will see you tonight at the hospital. And don't worry about finding Itachi, I can do that for you."

"Thanks so much Kakashi, I think I'm just gonna go home and relax for awhile. I might even take a quick nap, because for some reason I've been kinda tired lately. Maybe all the late shifts at the hospital are finally catching up with me," Sakura said, standing as well. "But I'll see you tonight, and try not to be too late please or I'll be the one getting yelled at for not keeping you in line." Sakura waved to everyone, and quickly made her way back home.

"Actually Sasuke would you mind doing me a favor and telling Itachi about the mission? I have a quick errand I need to run, and I guess it would be more convenient for you to tell him, then for me to run all the over there and tell him myself. Plus, you know how lazy I am, and the less work I have to do the better," Kakashi stated, the statement of his laziness being the absolute truth.

"Yeah no problem Kakashi, I can tell him for you. I'm sure he's just out training on our property anyway, so I can go find him and let him know the situation," Sasuke replied, being more cooperative than usual. Kakashi thanked Sasuke and walked off in the opposite direction. Sasuke decided to just go home, explain the mission to his brother, and then rest. They all decided they needed some rest, since tomorrow would be the start of a long mission.

* * *

"Oh I didn't realize they had scheduled us all for the same time," Sakura said, noticing that not only was her team here, but Naruto's as well. "Well, we should all just get comfortable since we're probably gonna be here for awhile."

"Well might as well get started so we can get out of here. . . I hate hospitals," Kakashi said, cringing at the thought of having to be in the hospital. It was well known that Kakashi avoided hospitals, no matter how badly he was wounded. Luckily with Sakura around, Kakashi was either threatened with serious bodily harm, or she would give in and treat him wherever they were. Regardless he was one stubborn man, but he couldn't blatantly ignore the orders of the hokage, so into the hospital he ventured.

Shizune welcomed everyone into the main entrance of the hospital, and from there, assigned them each to their own separate rooms. She told them to just wait in their rooms until someone got to them, and assured them it wouldn't take too long. Sakura sighed and walked into her assigned room. She hated being a patient here, and much preferred being the medic, as hypocritical as that was. Sakura waited for what seemed like an eternity, but finally the door opened, and Tsunade came strolling into her room.

"Shishou why on earth are you here?" Sakura asked, quite surprised to see Tsunade actually giving medical exams. Though she was one of the best medics around, Tsunade really had more important things to be doing. _'Maybe she's just avoiding doing paperwork or something,'_ Sakura thought, coming to the conclusion that she was just being lazy and avoiding her work.

"Well each of you must be given an injection to prevent any diseases that you could acquire from traveling to other countries, and since there are six of you I figured I would assist Shizune," Tsunade explained casually, holding up the needle and shaking any excess air bubbles from it. Sakura seemed to understand the necessity of the injection, though she did not particularly like it. She held out her arm for Tsunade, waiting to receive her shot. As soon as the needle was pressed to her skin, breaking the thin layer, and the medicine started flowing through her veins she could feel that something was off.

"Tsunade what's going on? I feel. . .dizzy. . .and tired. . ." Sakura tried to say, slowly fading. Everything started to go black when she thought she heard Tsunade say "Everything's fine." Unbeknownst to Sakura, her five friends were experiencing the same fate.

* * *

Sakura could feel her consciousness slowly coming back. She struggled to open her eyes, her body fighting back, and doing everything possible to keep them forced shut. After a minute of forcing herself back into consciousness, Sakura was able to pry them open, but immediately regretted the decision. The current pain that stabbed through her head was like a millions needles all seeking out their vengeance for some unknown offense. "Ugh what on earth happened." Sakura was able to groan out the words as she attempted to sit up, all the while holding her head, as if that action would somehow repel the headache. When she finally got her bearings, and the world stopped spinning, she looked around to see that Itachi and Kakashi seemed to be experiencing the same waking up horror that she had.

"Guys are you alright?" Sakura questioned, her medic tendencies kicking in, wanting to make sure her teammates were safe.

"Fine," Kakashi grumbled out, obviously not in a talking mood. Itachi only grunted to show that he was alright, though she should have expected nothing more. The medic side of Sakura wanted a full in depth rundown of how they were feeling, but she let it go for now, assuming they were feeling about how she was—bad.

"What the fuck happened," Kakashi said a minute later, when he seemed to be a little more aware of his surroundings. The confusion on his face mirrored Sakura's expression to a tee.

"I'm not sure," Sakura replied, "But I'm assuming that Tsunade and Shizune drugged us based on the symptoms we're having now." In her head, Sakura was going through all the medical textbooks she had recently read, finding the most logical explanation of their symptoms.

Finally, realization seemed to cross Itachi's face, his brain working on overload. After a moment he seemed to come back to the world of the living, and decided to express his thoughts. "It seems to me that this is part of the so called mission," he explained, holding his head slightly as Sakura had done previously. Sakura felt a little appeased that even Mr. High and Mighty suffered too. "As Sasuke explained to me, the point of the mission is to take us by surprise and to see how we can handle working in an unknown environment with a new team. So, I presume that this was all set up, so that we could be transported to wherever the hell we are, so we could begin the survival mission." Kakashi and Sakura looked at Itachi, mildly impressed he was able to think so clearly after being so groggy from the drugs, though they really should have expected nothing less from the prodigy himself. Itachi's explanation of their current situation seemed to resonate with them, and it was all becoming clear.

"Well, all I can say is I'm never trusting Tsunade to give me any kinda injection after this whole ordeal," Sakura complained, fighting the urge to lay back down, knowing staying awake was important for the time being. "And where the hell are we by the way?"

"Well, from the looks of it, we seem to be in Lightning Country," Kakashi reasoned. "Because of the mountainous terrain I can only assume that's where we are, but the weather will surely confirm my thoughts."

"Yes Kakashi I do believe you are correct, but I guess we'll know when it starts to downpour," Itachi responded, hoping silently that the rain wouldn't come, and they could avoid it all together. All three were now firmly sitting up, and taking in the breathtaking view of their surroundings; though this was a mission, Sakura couldn't help but appreciate the utter beauty of this country. Sakura then took notice of their packs, which sat behind them in a haphazard pile.

"Seems Tsunade at least gave us our packs," Sakura stated, reaching over and grabbing their packs, and throwing them to Kakashi and Itachi. Sakura took her own pack and opened it to observe the contents, hoping silently that she wouldn't be disappointed. She had a few kunai, a change of clothes, and a communication headset. "They obviously aren't giving us much to work with here. The headsets are nice but I would have preferred food," Sakura stated, the disappointment of having no food openly showed on her features, as she wrinkled her brow and squinted her eyes slightly.

"Well princess, this is a survival mission, and assuming we're all thinking logically here, the point would be to survive. They aren't going to give us any handouts," Itachi stated, wasting no time in beginning the first in an onslaught of insults that Sakura knew were to come.

"God I know that you asshole, I'm just thinking out loud. Leave me alone," Sakura said, getting up and walking away from Kakashi and Itachi, deciding that she needed to clear her mind.

"Sakura get your ass back here," Kakashi said, mildly irritated with her abrupt reaction. "We aren't splitting up yet." He was not about to have Sakura walk off by herself and end up getting into some kind of trouble, she happened to be a magnet for it.

"That's the purpose of the headsets Kakashi. . ." she said pointedly, waving said item in his face to make her point. "This way I don't have to be around you two idiots forever, and you can still know where I am. I'm going to look for food. . . just put your headset on if you're so afraid I'm going to get lost," Sakura said, with no intention of listening to Kakashi, nor hanging around here any longer. She looked over her shoulder, put her headset on, and marched off through the trees.

"Just let her go Kakashi she'll be fine. She's just as well trained as we are in finding her way around. You have to remember she's not your student anymore, so let her do what she's gotta do," Itachi said, patting Kakashi on the back and moving to stand. "I'm going to look for some wood to start a fire with, and you can go look for some shelter for us. I figure since we're right next to a mountain there might be a nice cave somewhere that we could stay for awhile." Kakashi nodded his head in understanding and they parted ways, each hoping their search would turn up something.

Sakura was quite opposed to turning her headset on, but knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from Kakashi and Itachi if she didn't turn it on, so she unwillingly put it on her head and switched it on.

"_Finally Sakura, we've been waiting for a good five minutes for you to turn that damn thing on. Don't you run away from us without turning the headset on. That's what they're for!" _Kakashi stated, reprimanding her for making him worry slightly. Sakura rolled her eyes at the apparent concern in his voice.

"_Ugh Kakashi let it go. Stop being such a nag, I'm fine. I'm just looking for some damn food cause I'm starving_," Sakura replied.

"_Don't get mad at him for worrying princess, you never know what could happen when we're in a foreign country like this so you should always have your headset on if you're away from us,_" Itachi said, chiming in for the first time. Kakashi smirked to himself, knowing that Itachi was slightly on edge as well when they discovered Sakura had not yet turned her headset on. He was glad he wasn't the only one worrying about their cherry blossom.

"_You two are ridiculous. . . If you keep this up I'm gonna turn my headset off again. It's bad enough I have to be around you for an extended period of time, but now I have to constantly have you nagging in my ear,_" Sakura complained, not at all happy with the outcome of this situation. She really liked having her alone time, and though she understood the necessity and importance of having her headset on, that didn't mean she liked it. Itachi and Kakashi both smirked at her annoyance, as they both had a mutual understanding of how fun it was to tease Sakura. She was just too easy.

"_Alright princess, we'll leave you alone for awhile, but just leave your headset on. You never know, Kakashi might get attacked by a bear and need your saving. You can't abandon him in his time of need,"_ Itachi teased, though hoping this would be enough to make Sakura listen to them.

"_Yeah Sakura I might need your god like strength to save me from mean bears!"_ Kakashi replied, going right along with Itachi. _"I'm just a poor, innocent shinobi. . . Bears would destroy me!"_

"_Like I said, you two are idiots. And if a bear actually attacks Kakashi, I'll just laugh and watch him eat you. I'm sure you can manage to save your own ass Kakashi,"_ Sakura said, not giving in to their silly trick, though she could appreciate that they were trying to make her laugh and lighten the mood. _"Now both of you shut up, I found a stream and I'm gonna try to catch some fish so we can eat. Both of you better hurry up finding wood and shelter so we can eat!_" Sakura finished, not speaking another word until she had caught fish. Sakura prided herself on being a fish catching master. It wasn't easy to attempt to catch fish with just your hands, but enough missions without food made Sakura learn pretty quickly.

Kakashi voice spoke through the headsets, saying that he had found a nice cave about half a mile southwest of where they had previously been. Itachi also confirmed that he found a plethora of dry wood, which would be perfect for burning. Sakura replied that she had caught a good sized six fish, which would be enough to feed them well for tonight. Kakashi instructed them on how to find the cave he was currently waiting at, and Itachi and Sakura both ran in that direction, wasting no time.

Finally they met up at said cave, and began to immediately set up a fire. No more than five minutes after they had entered the nice shelter Kakashi had found, a thunderstorm was just beginning. At first light rain pattered against the hard rock shelter, creating an almost soothing rhythm. However, soon enough, the rain came down harder and harder, the sound intensifying thanks to the acoustics of the cave. After Sakura thought the rain couldn't get any louder, the thunder began, vibrating the entire cave with shock waves that came every minute or so. Sakura couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the lightning that danced through the sky, creating its' own rhythm against that of the rain and thunder—creating a symphony of sounds and colors for her to appreciate.

"Well at least we're inside and we have food," Sakura said, holding her fish close to the fire, attempting to cook it as fast as possible. "And I guess this thunderstorm confirms that we're in Lightning Country, so at least we know our location. Now we just have to survive here for a week, and then make it back to Konoha."

Itachi and Kakashi both nodded their heads, leaning back into a more comfortable sitting position. "Hopefully nothing will go wrong, and this will be a nice week of waiting it out until we can go back home," Kakashi said. Wholeheartedly hoping that nothing too serious was going to happen to them while they were out here. They all knew they couldn't afford to let their guards down, as that had been ingrained in them since becoming ninja in the first place, but they hoped they wouldn't have to be on such high alert.

"I think we should just rest tonight, and maybe do some exploring tomorrow to get a feel of the terrain. Who knows, maybe we could even train tomorrow. It would be an excellent training exercise to practice on this kind of terrain. Fighting on a mountainside is much different than fighting in the forest and on flat ground," Itachi explained.

"That's not a bad idea Itachi," Kakashi said, agreeing that this would probably be a pretty opportune time for them to train. They all continued to eat their fish in silence, as no one really had much to say. And as ninja, they had come to respect these times of silence. Sometimes it was what they all needed and wanted—just some time to themselves to think, and not have to worry about holding a conversation. Sakura laid back and wondered what this trip would have in store for them.

* * *

Around the same time as Sakura and her teammates were waking up, so were Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru. And they were all also experiencing the after affects of being drugged. Shikamaru seemed to be the first to get his bearings back, followed shortly by Sasuke; however, Naruto seemed quite affected by the drug, as he was still passed out.

"Hey dobe get your ass up," Sasuke said, reaching over to smack Naruto on the head, and holding his own head all the while. "Dammit Shikamaru what the hell happened to us." Shikamaru seemed to ponder this for a second before giving his response. He came to the same conclusion as Itachi had previously, and explained it to Sasuke.

"So now we're stuck here for a week? I presumed we would be somewhat aware of where we were, but I guess not," Sasuke stated, still holding his head, willing the headache to leave as quickly as possible.

"Well from the looks of the area it seems we're in Earth Country. I've never actually been here before, but I have heard of it. Asuma once told me of some missions he had in the Earth Country, and explained how harsh the terrain was because it's covered in mountains. He also said the wind was excessive here, and that if I ever had a mission there to watch out for it. Apparently it was once so strong it blew Asuma straight over," Shikamaru explained, looking around again to take in his surroundings. Sasuke could also agree that the terrain around them perfectly matched what Asuma had described to Shikamaru. As they were finishing up their appraisal of their surroundings, Naruto was finally starting to stir.

"Ugh. . . What the fuck happened," Naruto complained, still not sitting up. He continued to lie down even though he was awake, and even managed to curl himself into a tight ball. "And dammit my head is killing me. What the fuck."

"Calm down Naruto, we've been drugged and transported to the Earth country," Sasuke explained, rolling his eyes about how dramatic Naruto could be sometimes. While Naruto and Sasuke bantered back and forth, Shikamaru was able to find their packs, and opened his to see what they were given. Inside he found the same supplies given to the other team—kunai, a change of clothes, and a headset. Shikamaru interrupted Naruto and Sasuke's continued banter by throwing their packs at their faces. Sasuke saw it coming and easily caught the pack, but Naruto was still shaky from the drug, so his pack hit him square in the face, causing him to tumble back over.

"Goddammit Shika, don't throw this shit at my face when I'm still messed up from that drug," Naruto complained, giving Shikamaru an evil glare.

"Suck it up Naruto, and stand up we need to get moving soon so we can find ourselves a shelter. If we're gonna be stuck here for a week we need to find someplace to stay," Shikamaru stated; as always worrying about taking care of business first. He wasn't one to idly sit by when thrown into an unknown situation, he preferred to deal with things head on. Naruto seemed to realize Shikamaru was correct, and forced himself, with much effort, to stand up.

"Should we. . ." Naruto was able to say before a kunai was thrown at his face. Luckily, he caught it just in time, and was about to yell at Sasuke for throwing a kunai at him, before he realized Sasuke and Shikamaru seemed just as confused as he was. Immediately all three of them shut up, put their headsets on, and took cover. Shikamaru scanned the area, trying to locate where the stray kunai had come from. He quickly noticed about 200 feet away from them hidden behind a tree were three ninja.

"_200 feet, northwest, behind the large tree. Three of them,_" Shikamaru quickly whispered into the headset, informing Naruto and Sasuke. Shikamaru signaled to both of them to move in, and their movements did not go unnoticed to the newcomers, and they scattered in three directions. _"Naruto, Sasuke, follow those two and I'll get this one. Try to make them talk, but if necessary don't hesitate to kill_." They both took no time following Shikamaru's orders, and each jumped after a separate one. After finally catching up to the ninja he was following, Shikamaru quickly caught him with shadow jutsu.

"Why did you attack us?" Shikamaru asked, receiving silence as his answer. "Who are you working for?" he tried again. He wasn't stupid enough to think he would get an answer out of him, but he could at least try. The only thing he could gain from looking at his opponent was that he was a sound nin, and most likely of jonin rank based on his attire. He wondered why on earth a sound nin, most of all a jonin ranked sound nin, would be attacking them when they were just on a simple survival mission. His opponent continued to stand there, looking at him with mocking eyes, still not speaking.

"_Dammit Shikamaru, the one I was following just killed himself. I think they have a poison capsule in their mouths or something, because as I caught up to him and cornered him, he just keeled over_," Sasuke explained through the headset. At this point Naruto chimed in as well, saying the same thing happened to him.

Before Shikamaru could respond, the sound nin he was holding captive fell to the ground, and seemingly died. _"Fuck, the same just happened to the guy I was chasing. Meet me back where we started so we can discuss this_." They all ran back to the place they originally woke from, and stood there slightly bewildered, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Alright all I could gather from looking at him was he was a rouge nin, originally from the sound village, and he seemed to be a jonin because of his attire," Shikamaru stated. "Did you two happen to notice anything in particular either than the fact that all seemed more intent on poisoning themselves than escaping?"

"No all I noticed was a weird tattoo on his shoulder, but other than that just what you said," Naruto replied. Sasuke nodded, showing he had nothing further to input.

Shikamaru sighed, "Well, I guess since we don't know very much about who these rouge nin are, or what they want from us, we should probably be a little more careful for the next week, so we don't run into any more problems. Part of me wants to run back to Konoha to alert Tsunade of our findings, but I guess since they're gone now we may not have further problems, and we probably shouldn't ruin this mission."

"I agree," Sasuke stated. "I think as of right now we should just stay here for awhile longer. There was no harm no foul with those rouge nin, and if we're wrong and it's nothing serious, Tsunade will be pissed that we ruined a mission like this." Naruto nodded his head in agreement, though something didn't seem to sit right with him about those rouge nin. The way his had smirked at him before swallowing the poison wouldn't leave his mind, and left an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to ignore it since Sasuke and Shikamaru seemed to think it wasn't very serious, and he didn't want to make a deal out of something that was hopefully nothing. Hopefully they wouldn't have anymore run-ins like that. Naruto could only cross his fingers and hope.

They proceeded to spend the rest of the day seeking out shelter and finding food. Finding a shelter in a rocky, mountainous terrain wasn't very difficult, considering there were small caves all over these mountains. Food on the other hand, was quite an issue. Since they were higher up on the mountains then Sakura's group, they had no streams to find fish in, so instead, they had to try to find some wild animals. After a good hour or more of searching, they managed to find a lone mountain lion, which they quickly disposed of—they needed to eat, and finding meat like this on a mission was quite rare, so they took full advantage of it. Naruto and Sasuke threw it over their shoulders, and ran back to meet Shikamaru at their cave turned shelter. Shikamaru already had a fire going, and was sitting around waiting for them to get back.

After they returned, Sasuke took on the duty of carving out some meat from the mountain lion. Naruto and Shikamaru greatly appreciated this, since no one really enjoyed carving up anything. Once Sasuke had finished getting some meat, they all began cooking their food, grateful they had something to eat. They were lacking in water, which was going to be an issue, but they decided the next morning they would travel down to the bottom of the mountain to find some. They also decided they needed to leave the fire on as they slept, otherwise they would freeze being so high up in the mountains, but they hoped they were well enough hidden that no rouge nin would attack them in the middle of the night. Shikamaru thought about the odds of getting attacked twice in the same day, and determined they could risk leaving the fire on, as he really didn't expect anything to happen. They all bid one another goodnight and journeyed off to dream land, all the while the fire still crackling and dancing with the wind.

* * *

Sakura woke suddenly in the middle of the night, tossing and turning on the hard ground, unable to fall back to sleep. She lay on the cave floor for what seemed like forever, before she decided she might as well take a walk if she couldn't sleep—maybe it would help her clear her head. Luckily enough for her, the previous thunderstorm had subsided, and the moon was out in all its' glory. She got up as quietly as she could, so as not to disturb her teammates. Once she assured that she didn't wake up Kakashi and Itachi, she silently crept out of the cave and began her journey into the darkness.

Though they hadn't been here long, Sakura was already able to recognize a bit of the terrain. That was a skill they acquired over the years—being able to quickly learn and remember new terrain. It was a great asset on many missions, and Sakura had become quite good at it. Even in the dark, she was able to see the path she took to the stream she had found earlier in the day. She decided she would walk along that path, and maybe sit out by the water for a little while. The water had an inexplicable calming effect on her, along with the moon. And the combination of the two gave her a feeling of serenity, so she often tried to seek out this solace. She enjoyed the feeling of walking along the path, with no one bothering her; admiring the small drops of water that sprinkled down from the tree tops. No Itachi poking fun at her, and no Kakashi being outrageous as always—it was just her and her thoughts, and the splendor of the surrounding forest, and she couldn't be happier.

After awhile of walking she finally came upon the stream she had found earlier. All this walking had made her quite hot, so she decided a dip in the stream would be relieving. Also, she was most definitely not opposed to being clean. Sakura proceeded to strip off her clothes, leave them on a nearby rock, and step into the stream. It wasn't too deep, but it was deep enough to cover up to her neck when she was sitting, and that was good enough for her. She leaned her head against the river bank, and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the cool water against her hot skin.

A few minutes later, Sakura heard a sound coming from far back in the woods. She quickly grabbed a kunai she secretly had next to her, and threw it in that direction; intent on hitting whatever had made the sound. She didn't hear the sound of something or someone falling; however, as soon as the thing got closer, she picked up on the chakra single, and realized it was Itachi. He sauntered out from the woods, holding the kunai in his hands, and giving Sakura his trademark smirk.

"Itachi god fucking dammit I'm naked you asshole! What is it with you and sneaking up on me while I'm naked," Sakura fumed, while lowering herself back down into the water, so as not to show off her body to him.

"Calm down princess I can't see anything anyway, and you should have expected this. I knew immediately that you had left the cave without letting us know, so I had to come after you. Kakashi would kill me if something had happened to you and I hadn't been here," Itachi explained, holding his hands up in a peace gesture, the cockiness slowing leaving his features to be replaced with a more peaceful look.

"Well, fine. . ." Sakura conceded, knowing there was no way around this. "Just go sit behind that tree or something; I don't want you staring at me while I'm sitting in the stream naked." Itachi laughed a little but complied with her wishes, not wanting to upset his dear teammate any longer.

"I don't know why you act like I've never seen a female body before princess," Itachi stated casually. "I've had my fair share of women, so it's nothing new." Itachi was attempting to make casual conversation, but his statement damn near shocked Sakura with its candidness.

"Itachi! Stop being so casual about it. I'm not some girl you're fucking, I'm your teammate; it's too awkward if you see me naked. Plus it makes me uncomfortable," Sakura said, slightly appalled that Itachi was taking this so lightly, when it was a big deal to her. "You're such a pig."

"Not a pig princess, I'm just a man. Can't help myself sometimes," Itachi said.

"Ugh, Itachi. . . the last thing I want to hear about is your sex life. If you insist on staying here at least do me a favor and don't speak," Sakura snapped, lowering her head to hide the blush he couldn't see. She didn't need to hear about Itachi's sex life, as it only made her think about the lack of hers.

"Aw princess, am I sensing some jealously here?" Itachi questioned, the mocking tone right back in his voice.

"No you ass, I pity the women who actually have sex with you. I can't imagine you're anything to talk about," Sakura retorted, the blush slowly fading away, and being replaced with annoyance.

"Wouldn't you like to know Sakura-chan," Itachi whispered.

"What was that?" She asked, turning around slightly.

"Nothing princess, just hurry up with your bath so we can head back and get some more rest before tomorrow," Itachi replied. Sakura nodded, though she knew he couldn't see, and quickly got out of the water, and put her clothing back on. Once she was dressed her and Itachi ran back to the cave in silence, as Sakura couldn't stop thinking about their awkward conversation. Why did it seem so natural to Itachi, while the subject was completely foreign to her? She hated how he could so easily make her feel like a child, when she was far from it. Just because she hadn't had sex, didn't give him reason enough to call her a child. She had spent her life training to be a ninja, not to mention being a top medic nin. So what if she couldn't find time to get a boyfriend or something like that, it didn't make her a child. . . did it? These thoughts plagued Sakura's thoughts while she attempted to fall asleep.

* * *

**AN: ** Alrighty, and there's the end of chapter two. I wanted to say that I'm going to attempt to get chapter three started maybe sometime next week or next weekend, but the update probably won't be as quick as this one. I'll be pretty busy this coming weekend and next week but I promise I will do my best. As always, your reviews give me quite the incentive to write, so they're much appreciated! Anyways, until next time. . . Ja ne!


	3. The Confrontation

**Smoke and Mirrors**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, all rights to Masashi Kishimoto, and I make no money from this story.

**AN: **Hey guys! Woo new chapter is up. I really enjoyed writing this chapter because I feel like it's finally starting to pick up a little bit, and I hope you guys agree. Anyways, just a quick reminder if you didn't see the update I posted in chapter one, I reposted chapters one and two and did a little tweaking to them, and added about 1000 words to each chapter. It's not necessary to reread, just made me feel better fixing it up a little. So thanks to everyone who has read so far, and thanks to XxSakuraGaaraLoverxX, Leona DragonBlood Aero, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha (love your name btw), and Three sisters productions for their lovely reviews. They made me smile =). Anyways the annoying author will stop talking so you can all get on with the chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Three: The Confrontation

The morning light peered into the cave, splaying over its current residents. Sakura felt the light hit her face, pulling her from her restless sleep. The first thought that registered in her sleep-altered brain was how uncomfortable she was. Sleeping on the rock hard floor of a cave was not high in the list of her favorite things to do. As she was silently complaining about the ache in her back, another realization hit her—one she knew she wasn't going to be pleased about. She opened her eyes to confirm her suspicion, and found arms snuggly wrapped around her waist, and a face pressed into her neck.

"Kakashi. . . kindly remove yourself before I rip your arms off," Sakura stated, as calmly as she could possibly manage—Sakura wasn't known for her morning patience. Kakashi groaned slightly and, if possible, pulled her even closer against himself.

"Mm Sakura-chan, but I'm so comfy and you're so warm," Kakashi groaned out, not removing himself from his source of warmth as Sakura had so kindly asked him to do. Kakashi's captive rolled her eyes, and attempted to pull herself away to no avail. She was used to Kakashi's morning antics, as this was a common occurrence; however, she still refused to put up with it.

"Kakashi let go before I hit you," Sakura tried, wondering how difficult he was going to be this morning. Kakashi groaned again, showing his dislike for, not only being so rudely awoken, but also for being forced from his source of warmth. He finally seemed to get the hint and rolled away from her, curling into a ball to retain as much warmth as he could. Sakura sighed, finally able to sit up and move. "You're never going to get over that cuddling habit you have are you Kakashi?"

"Well, if you weren't so warm and cuddly I wouldn't have a cuddling habit," Kakashi retorted from his curled up state. This made Sakura giggle a bit, shaking her head at how ridiculous Kakashi could be in the mornings. Itachi cleared his throat, attempting to get their attention—he seemed to have enough of their morning teasing.

"If you two are done, I'd like to discuss what we plan on doing today. While you were snoozing I was running the perimeter, and it seems we'll be safe here. I didn't notice anything that could be potentially harmful, so I think it's safe to train a little today," Itachi stated, remaining ever vigilant to their current situation. Regardless of Sakura's feelings about him, she could concede that he was one hell of a leader, though she'd never admit it to his face. Itachi turned his attention to Sakura and spoke once again. "Sakura, I imagine you'll be able to heal anyone who gets hurt too badly?" Sakura just rolled her eyes for what felt like the tenth time that morning.

"No need to doubt my skills oh fearless captain, I'm quite capable" Sakura said, throwing a little bit of teasing his way. Itachi nodded his head in consent—He knew Sakura was capable of anything, but hearing her say it made him feel more secure. After they were as awake as they could be after a restless night of sleep, and had a small bit of food in their stomachs, Itachi decided that no more time should be wasted sitting around like they were.

"Itachi, there's no need to be such a hard-ass," Kakashi complained, wanting nothing more than to curl up in a nice warm bed and get some well deserved rest. "It's almost like we're on a vacation here why can't you let us enjoy it."

"I don't think that question should even be dignified with a response Kakashi. Now get your ass up I'm not going to say it twice." If there was one thing Itachi was serious about, that was training. Nothing would stop Itachi from taking training seriously, least of all his lazy ass teammate. Kakashi grumbled, but made no attempt to complain about it again. Dealing with a pissy Itachi was not on his list of things to do today.

The three teammates made their way out of their home away from home, and into the adjacent forest. Sakura figured they would stop on the outskirts of the impenetrable woods, but Itachi seemed keen on leading them further in. She said nothing and continued to follow him, as the dense trees continued to wrap themselves around her to the point where anything but trees was obscured from her vision. Sakura soon realized why Itachi was dragging them so far into darkness of the forest; he planned on giving them a new medium to contend with. She had to hand it to their captain, he was quite resourceful. Once Itachi had decided they had gone far enough, he turned around to face his teammates.

"Alright, Sakura I want you to sit out of this one, since you and I have already sparred. I think today it would be more fun for you to watch Kakashi and I go at it," Itachi explained, a small smirk tracing his chiseled features. Sakura blushed slightly at Itachi's comment and thought, _'Oh how hot that would be.'_ She shook the explicit thought from her brain and brought herself back into the sad reality.

"Sounds good captain," she replied, making sure her voice was stable, as to not give away her previous thoughts. She jumped to a nearby tree to seat herself in a safe place, far enough away from the battle that was about to occur. She had to admit—all sexual thoughts aside—that watching Itachi and Kakashi battle was bound to be epic. She imagined few had seen such top notch shinobi such as themselves spar one another, and she was quite grateful that she would get to witness the sight.

"Alright Kakashi, obviously we're going to be battling in the trees, and for this particular session I think taijutsu will suffice. I don't want to hurt you too badly," Itachi teased, attempting to provoke Kakashi. The smirk Sakura was beginning to hate was once again plastered across his face.

"I'll make you eat your words captain," Kakashi countered, getting into his fighting stance. Itachi smirked at Kakashi's response, and prepared himself. Sakura barely had time to blink before they were at each other, throwing punches and kicks at a blinding speed. Even for Sakura's trained eyes, watching Itachi and Kakashi just move was a challenge in and of itself. She knew they were both brilliantly skilled fighters, but seeing them like this was completely overwhelming her senses. Sakura wasn't about to sell herself short, she was skilled in taijutsu; but these two were like gods, on a completely different level, and she felt privileged to see them like this while not having to worry about her own safety.

She watched them skillfully move from tree to tree, throwing punches and kicks all the while. Neither of them seemed to have an edge on the other. For a minute Itachi would have control, making Kakashi go on the defensive, and making Sakura think he had the upper hand; but a split second later Kakashi would regain control of the fight. They continued to battle it out in close combat until both of them seemed to be fatiguing slightly, though each trying their best to hide it. Kakashi jumped away for a second to regain his breath, while Itachi elegantly dropped down to the ground. Sakura could see Itachi take in a deep breath, refilling his lungs, before Kakashi leaped down, attempting to surprise Itachi to no avail. A few minutes later both of them were obviously suffering from wounds, the severity of which Sakura was unsure. Itachi was holding onto his side, while Kakashi seemed to be nursing his wrist. Sakura wanted to reprimand them both for getting too serious and possibly severely injuring the other, but she knew better than to get in the middle of this fight—she most definitely did not have a death wish.

It was then, that Itachi managed to land a severe blow on Kakashi, making him fall from the tree and collapse onto the ground. Kakashi's body was covered with a sheen of sweat, that slowly slid down his body as he took deep breaths. The bruises that scattered his features made Sakura wonder just how badly he had been injured. Itachi seemed to be in the same shape as Kakashi, though at least he was able to stand. He grabbed onto the tree he was currently residing on for support, and decided to call the match.

"That's enough Kakashi, I don't think either one of us is able to go on anymore," Itachi said, dropping down from the tree, and falling onto one knee. Sakura knew both of them had conceded a tie, and she jumped down to assess their injuries.

"You guys are idiots you know that?" She reprimanded, giving each of them a hard, stern gaze. "Look how hurt you both are right now, what if someone was to attack us. I didn't think you guys would get so serious when we're out on a mission like this. I don't even know where to start with how reckless that was." Sakura sighed, knowing her lecture was falling on deaf ears. She sauntered over to Kakashi, who had managed—with much difficulty—to pull himself into a sitting position. "You idiot sit still and stop moving around I'm going to heal you now," Sakura said, and then proceeded to turn her gaze to Itachi. "Are you going to be okay if I take care of Kakashi first?" Itachi nodded, and allowed himself to rest against the tree.

Sakura wanted to lecture them more for being so careless, but healing was her top priority right now. Her hands glowed a light green as she scanned them over Kakashi body, feeling for the worst of his injuries. "Kakashi I need you to lie on your back so I can get a better assessment of your injuries," Sakura explained, helping him into said position. Her hands glowed green once again as she finished her assessment of his injuries. She sighed, wanting to beat them both into oblivion for being so damn irresponsible.

"Alright Kakashi, it seems you have a broken wrist as well as a few cracked ribs. Just sit still for a while and don't you dare move," she said, and for once Kakashi had no smartass retort, and decided to listen to her advice. He knew better than to piss off the only medic in a fifty mile radius when he was in such a condition. Sakura set to work on healing his injuries, a firm scowl set into her face. She tackled his wrist first, slowly mending the bones back together—she had to be careful not to make any mistakes and worsen his condition. After she had finished her work on his wrist, she moved on to his ribs, making quick work of them. Kakashi also had various scrapes and bruises all over his body; however, Sakura knew well enough that she had to save enough chakra to heal Itachi, so she left them alone. She thought for a moment, and decided the bruises could be his punishment for being so stupid.

Once she had finished working on Kakashi, she turned her attention to Itachi. She instructed Itachi to lie down, just like Kakashi, and began her evaluation. As Itachi was laying beneath her searching hands, she couldn't help but think of their conversation the previous night, and held back the blush that she could feel coming. She was just healing him, there should be no reason for her to blush right now. Luckily, she was able to hold it back, and Itachi's eyes were closed as he waited, so he didn't see her falter for a split second. During her exploration, she found that Itachi also had suffered some broken ribs. His ribs were worse than Kakashi's, but that seemed to be his only serious injury. Once again, Sakura set to work slowly mending his ribs, sweat slowly trickling down her face as she deeply concentrated on her work—her brow set in a firm wrinkle with strained eyes; her teeth taking a hold on her lip as she continued the tedious work. Once she finished she took a deep breath and helped both Itachi and Kakashi to a sitting position, and proceeded to wipe the sweat from her face with the back of her hand.

"I'm going to lecture both of you idiots when I get back so don't expect to get out of that. But right now I'm going to run back down to that stream and get you both some water; I don't want either of you getting dehydrated," Sakura explained, grabbing her pack and preparing herself for the trip she had previously memorized. This terrain was quickly becoming second nature to her, so another trip down familiar territory would be an easy job.

"But Sakura you aren't meant to be running off on your own," Kakashi complained. Sakura rolled her eyes and held back the urge to smack him. How he could complain about her doing anything while he was laying in such a condition was beyond her comprehension.

"You should have thought of that before you decided to beat the shit out of each other to the point where you can't even move," she retorted, her displease evident. "Kakashi I'll be fine I'm just running down to the stream, and neither of you are in a condition to be moving around. I've mended the bones but it would be better for both of you to just sit still for a little while, and not put too much strain on your injuries. If you get up and run around now all my chakra would have been wasted for nothing, so just sit there like good little boys and wait until I get back." Sakura would hear no more of their complaints, and continued off in the opposite direction.

As soon as she was far enough away from them Sakura placed her hand on a nearby tree, and leaned over to catch her breath. She knew she had used up too much chakra healing those idiots, but she wanted to be certain that they wouldn't see her showing any sign of weakness. They seemed to be concerned enough about her well-being, so she did her best to hide anything that could cause them anymore worry. After she had replenished the supply of oxygen in her lungs, she continued on to her destination. She wanted to get back to them as fast as possible, to make sure they had done as she instructed, and weren't at each other's throats again. Sakura finally made it to the stream, and proceeded to fill her canteen with enough water for the both of them. Once she deemed she had an ample amount of water, she moved to stand back up; but in that second, she realized something was very, very wrong.

Sakura felt the presence behind her much too late; though, she attempted to grab the kunai hidden on her thigh before she felt a sharp, jabbing pain in her neck. _'Fuck,'_ Sakura thought, as she slowly slipped into the world of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Kakashi. . . Sakura has been gone for too long now. . . It's been over fifteen minutes it shouldn't have taken her that long to run down to the water and back," Itachi said, his worry showing in his brow.

"Maybe she's just expended too much chakra and sat down for a rest," Kakashi responded, hoping that was the truth, and that nothing serious had happened to their cherry blossom. Kakashi pitied the poor fool who had a mind to hurt Sakura. Itachi seemed to consider that as a possibility, but remaining stagnant was not one of his qualities.

Kakashi's reasoning didn't seem to suffice for Itachi, and he frowned as he moved to a standing position. "We're going down there now Kakashi. I'd rather know that she is safe than sit around here and speculate about it." Itachi seemed set in his resolve, and waited for Kakashi to get himself up as well. Kakashi smiled a little to himself, pleased that Itachi had responded in such a way, as he would have been disappointed with a reaction of any less fervor. As soon as they were both on their feet, no one would have been able to guess that minutes prior they had been incapable of moving. They quickly began running in Sakura's direction, hoping to catch her sitting around and resting, rather than hurt in any way.

In half the time it should have taken them to get there, Itachi and Kakashi slid to a stop right next to the bank of the river. "Dammit where is she Kakashi." You could almost hear the anger in Itachi's voice. It was rare that he let his emotions get the best of him, but right now it was blatantly obvious. Kakashi was quite unable to speak, as anxiety overtook him. Itachi remained quiet for awhile, shutting his eyes and analyzing his surroundings. "I sense three other unknown chakra signals Kakashi, she must have been taken. It's faint, but I imagine they were here about ten minutes ago." Kakashi wasted no time in summoning Pakkun.

"Ah Kakashi, what do you want I was busy sleeping. . . This better be important," Pakkun complained sleepily, using a paw to wipe at his face in an attempt to wake up.

"Pakkun, I need you to follow Sakura's chakra signal and lead us there. We believe she was taken and we have to find her immediately," Kakashi explained in a hurried voice. Pakkun looked up at Kakashi's face, and noticed the concern that danced through his eyes—this was definitely serious. Pakkun nodded and quickly caught on to Sakura's scent, and sprinted in that direction. Kakashi and Itachi wasted no time in silently following after him.

'_Please Sakura, be safe,'_ Itachi thought, moving as quickly as his legs could carry him.

* * *

Sasuke sat down—well more collapsed to the ground—and panted heavily. Naruto and Sasuke had just finished a sparring session, while Shikamaru observed from the sidelines. Naruto was in the same shape as Sasuke, breathing deeply and nursing some insignificant wounds. Luckily they had not injured one another very seriously, as Shikamaru had been quite strict about how much strength they were allowed to use when no medic was present.

Sasuke rested himself against a nearby rock, wishing there was a glimpse of shade somewhere, as he was sweating bullets. He silently yearned for the infamous wind to pick up slightly, and allow him to cool down as he so desperately needed. He took a small sip of water, letting the excess trickle down to his chin, mixing with sweat and dirt. He brought his knee up to his chest, his rapid heart rate beginning to slow as he continued the long, deep breaths. He rested his head against his knee, as he let his thoughts overtake him. He had been wondering how Sakura had been faring with Kakashi and his brother. The more he had grown to know Sakura over the years, the more he felt that she was just like a sister to him; and like any brother would, he worried. He knew Sakura was strong enough to put Kakashi and Itachi in their places; however, he missed having her on his team. Though he would never utter it out loud, he had come to find peace in the times team seven would sit around and enjoy one another's company. Like now, it almost felt wrong to be resting after a heavy sparring session, and not have Sakura there to reprimand him and Naruto for taking it so seriously. He could almost hear her voice calling them idiots, and threatening to knock them into next week. He couldn't stop the small smile that came to his face at the thought of it, and of course, Naruto was there to pick up on it.

"Hey Sasuke-teme, what's that smile for? Smiling cause you finally realized you'll never be as good as me? Feels good to accept it doesn't it?" Naruto asked, laughing a little as he loved teasing Sasuke.

"You're stupid dobe, just go to sleep or something and stop bothering us with your incessant chatter," Sasuke countered, letting the smile fade from his face to replace it with the famous—patent pending—Uchiha smirk. Naruto jumped to his feet, about to show Sasuke just who was stupid in this group, but Shikamaru interrupted him.

"Naruto calm yourself. Just sit there and rest for awhile so this heat doesn't take all your energy away. We're going to have to make our way down to the bottom of the canyon to reach the water soon, and you'll need your strength to make the climb down. So I suggest you and Sasuke take a break and rest, because we're moving out in twenty minutes." Shikamaru said nothing more, as he expected his orders to be obeyed. He went back to closing his eyes, and taking sanctuary in his own thoughts. Sasuke could see Naruto about to say something, before he seemed to calm down and understand that Shikamaru was right. Naruto haphazardly sprawled himself across the ground, taking up as much space as he could.

As he laid there, his face resting against the hot stone, he began thinking of their encounter the previous day. Sasuke and Shikamaru had said nothing more about the rouge nin, but Naruto still couldn't shake the unpleasant feeling it gave him in the pit of his stomach. He just knew those guys were bad news, he could feel it. He couldn't explain how he knew, but he just did. He wanted to express his thoughts to his teammates, though they didn't seem so keen on listening to his rambles; especially considering he had nothing to back up his claims other than pure gut feeling. He shook his head a little to remove the thoughts he was having, before replacing it against the hard ground. _'Come on Naruto, you need to stop with these silly thoughts of yours. If high and mighty Shikamaru doesn't seem to think it was anything serious, then it probably isn't anything serious. Even Sasuke-teme is convinced it was just a coincidence. . . It must be. . . I have to be wrong. It's all going to be okay.'_ After Naruto's inner monologue had finished its lecture, he seemed to calm down slightly. Apparently, his inner mind could be quite convincing when need be. He let the thoughts leave his head as he shut his eyes to take some well deserved rest.

While Naruto had been busy convincing himself that the prior situation had been no real problem, Shikamaru had been thoroughly analyzing every angle of the situation. He knew he had been wrong in so quickly throwing it out as coincidence, and was attempting to make sense of it. However, no part of his highly analytical mind could wrap itself around why rouge nin had showed up, basically done nothing, and then killed themselves. It made no tactical sense. Even if they were sent as scouts, how could they report back to whoever sent them if they just laid down and died. And what did they even want? That was the main question plaguing his thoughts. His brow wrinkled in concentration and thought, as he examined the possibility that they were after Naruto. It was well known to everyone who had grown up with Naruto that he had that monster hidden deep within his body. Though, if they were after Naruto, why did they make no move to take him. _'Arg!'_ he thought angrily, putting his head in his hands, slowly massaging his temples. _'Why can't I make sense of this situation. . . I've never felt so utterly useless.'_ Shikamaru shut his eyes, took a deep relaxing breath, and continued to delve through his thoughts. He was going to make sense of this situation if it killed him.

* * *

"How close now Pakkun?" The harshness in Itachi's voice gave away the urgency of the situation; he had to know that she was safe.

"They're still running Itachi. . . it will probably be easier to catch them once they've stopped their movements," Pakkun replied, increasing his pace slightly.

"Let's just hurry. . ." Itachi's pace increased as he spoke those words. Kakashi caught on to his increase in speed and urged him to slow down a little.

"We'll be of no use to Sakura if we're too exhausted by the time we reach her." He could see the silent battle that waged on in Itachi's mind, before he relented and slowed his pace slightly. Nothing more was said between the two as they hurried on as quickly as they dared.

It was another thirty minutes of running in silence before Pakkun's ears perked up, alerting Kakashi and Itachi that they must be close.

"They seem to be slowing," Pakkun informed them quietly. Itachi and Kakashi both took in the information silently, knowing that speaking out right now may alert the other party to their presence. After another few minutes, Pakkun slowed to almost a complete stop. Kakashi and Itachi easily picked up on the foreign chakra signals, but could barely feel Sakura's, which worried them tremendously. They both took a moment to mask their chakra signals as well as they could, and edged their way closer to Sakura's captors.

"Man, why on earth does Leader want this stupid bitch anyway. She looks pretty useless to me. . . I mean we picked her off like it was nothing. I figured that top shinobi like her were harder to capture, but she didn't even put up a fight," a harsh voice spoke loudly, completely unaware of the current company. Kakashi felt Itachi stiffen at the man's words—he didn't take well to people insulting Sakura.

Another voice, deeper and calmer that the first, responded to his loud and outspoken partner. "If he told us to capture her, she must have good use somehow. It's not our place to question his decisions, we just do what we are told." The first man seemed annoyed with his partner's response.

"Aw man you always ruin it for me. I don't know how you can so blindly follow his orders and never question anything. I really don't understand what this is all about," the first man replied, his voice still holding that harsh, cold tone.

Finally, the third man, who had remained silent until this point, finally chose to speak up. "Aki, Haru, both of you shut the hell up. We will have company soon, as I believe Leader is sending two members to pick this girl up. So until then, you both will shut up, and we will wait in silence." This third unnamed man seemed to be the leader of the bunch, as his orders were obeyed with no complaints from the first two. Itachi and Kakashi knew they had to act soon, before the other two showed up to take Sakura away. Itachi observed the bunch sitting around Sakura, who seemed to be passed out in the middle of it all; she was sprawled across the dirt covered ground, her hair covering her face from sight. They didn't seem to be skilled ninja, though if they were able to get an upper hand on Sakura, they were not to be trifled with.

'_If we can manage to completely surprise them, and take them out quickly, we might be able to get out of here with no injuries,'_ Itachi thought, though unable to express this to Kakashi, as speaking now would reveal their position. Kakashi gave a signal to Pakkun, letting him no his services were no longer needed, and he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Itachi quickly mouthed the plan to Kakashi, getting ready to ambush the three rouge nin. Kakashi nodded his head in approval, and wanted to get to it before anyone else showed up.

Before the rouge nin even had time to comprehend what was going on, Itachi had snapped the first ones neck, and Kakashi had stabbed the second one at least three times in fatal locations. The third unnamed nin had time to widen his eyes in horror before he too, was taken out for good.

"Well, that was almost too easy. I was expecting a little bit more of a fight from them. It seems they were just pawns with no real formal training," Itachi observed, though he wasn't complaining. He quickly walked over to Sakura's side and knelt down next to her, brushing the hair from her face. "I think she's okay Kakashi. . . it seems she was given a drug meant to put her to sleep; probably similar to the one Tsunade-sama gave us previously." He reached out a hand to lightly caress her face for a moment; but, just as quickly as he had touched her, he removed his hand, not approving of the look Kakashi had given him.

"No word of this Kakashi," he stated seriously, giving Kakashi the infamous Uchiha death glare. Kakashi laughed lightly and gave him a knowing look.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say captain. Let's just get her out of here before those other two come to claim their prize." Itachi consented, and reached down to pick Sakura up bridal style, holding her close to his chest. He looked down at her sleeping face for a moment, and his glance softened. She looked so peaceful as he held her in his arms, an expression he was not accustomed to seeing on her pretty little face. Normally, when Sakura spoke to him, she had a smirk or a scowl of some sort set across her features; but here. . . here was the peaceful Sakura, and Itachi instantly wished he could see more of this face. He memorized this expression, before looking back up at Kakashi, who was still giving him the knowing smirk. Itachi threw another glare his way, and proceeded to make his way back to the cave. Unbeknownst to Kakashi and Itachi, two hidden figures watched the whole scene from the shadows.

"Maaa senpaiii. . . We're going to get in so much trouble! We were supposed to bring the pink thing back to leader today. What's going to happen to us now that she's been rescued!" The first voice spoke in hurried, hushed tones. He seemed quite distressed over the whole situation, flailing his arms around and everything.

"You idiot shut the hell up, yeah? Obviously, there's nothing we can do about it now. . . We'll have to make a move ourselves, as sending incompetent fools to do our work did not go as planned," the second voice, deeper and more masculine, explained in a quick, harsh tone. The two unknown figures ran off in the opposite direction, no doubt planning their next attempt at capturing the pink haired kunoichi.

After a good ten minutes of running, Itachi and Kakashi decided they were far enough away to be able to slow to a walk for awhile. They had both really strained themselves while getting Sakura back, and the last thing they needed was to worsen their injuries, and have a livid Sakura to answer to. Itachi still cradled Sakura close to his chest, and made no move to let Kakashi carry her for awhile. Kakashi glanced over as they were walking in silence and took a short look at Sakura's peaceful face. Much like Itachi, it was on rare occasion that Kakashi was able to see Sakura so peaceful. It made him smile slightly to see her like that, as he too, wished to see that expression more often.

It was then that Sakura moved slightly in Itachi's arms, and cuddled herself closer to his chest, and murmured something unintelligible. Itachi looked down at her and gave a slight smile, knowing as soon as she woke up she would deny having ever done such a thing. It seemed Sakura was getting close to waking, as her unintelligible mumbles continued.

"Idiots. . ." she muttered out, the first intelligible thing she had spoken. Itachi and Kakashi had to stifle their laughs, as of course, Sakura would be dreaming about how much pain she would be inflicting on them for being so reckless earlier.

Slowly, Sakura managed to open her eyes, her vision slowly coming into focus. Though she could not fully see yet, she knew she was moving, and suddenly she flashed back to being kidnapped, and instantly grabbed for her kunai. Luckily, Itachi caught her movements, and stopped her just in time, right before she was about to stab him in the side.

"Woah now princess, calm yourself please. . . You're safe now," Itachi almost whispered, attempting to soothe her wrath. By this time Sakura's vision finally focused, and she looked up to see the Uchiha, smirking down at her, while he held her wrist loosely in his hand. It was also at this point that she put two and two together, and realized that Itachi Uchiha was carrying her, and on no level was she okay with this.

"Dammit Itachi put me the fuck down. Why the hell are you carrying me you stupid asshole. You're supposed to be injured. . . Put me down this instant!" Sakura demanded, kicking around in his arms.

"Jesus Sakura calm yourself down, you're still groggy from the sleeping drug they gave you. . . I'm going to continue to carry you whether you like it or not, so I suggest you shut up and rest for awhile. And damn we just saved you from rouge nin, you could at least say thank you," Itachi said, tightening his grip on Sakura to assure that she could not escape his grasp. He took the kunai from her hand and tucked it back into her pocket, and regained his hold on her. Sakura blushed again, realizing how ungrateful she just sounded.

"Thank you. . ." she muttered quietly, while directing her gaze down to the ground, as she didn't want to look Itachi in the eyes. She felt slightly embarrassed at her sudden outburst, though she'd never say so. Sakura decided to just shut her eyes again, and rest like Itachi had basically ordered her to do. Plus, ignoring him allowed her to take her mind away from the fact that he was actually carrying her. However, after some moments of silence, Sakura realized she had yet to assess how their injuries were.

"Kakashi, Itachi, how are your injuries doing?" She felt slightly guilty that she had went and gotten herself kidnapped while those two were in such a state. Sakura couldn't help but feel like she had let them down in a sense. She had gone on and on about how strong she was now and how she could handle anything, and the first time she has the chance to prove it, she failed. Granted, she was completely run down on chakra, and she knew the situation would have turned out differently had she had full use of her chakra, but making excuses was something she tried to avoid.

"We're doing well Sakura," Kakashi said, giving her a warm smile, almost reading her mind. "You did an exceptional job healing us, so it was fine that we moved so soon after. I imagine Itachi feels the same." Sakura looked up at Itachi to see him incline his head in agreement with Kakashi.

"No worries princess all is well." Sakura couldn't help but smile and cheer up slightly. The reassurance of her skill was what she needed at this moment, and she appreciated the sentiment.

"Um, Itachi. . . I really am feeling fine now. I believe I can walk on my own," she tried again, hoping this time he would consent and let her stand on her own two feet. She didn't want to be babied by them, as she was an equal on this team and would be treated as such. Itachi gave her a look, not approving of her constant need to be strong, but he relented and allowed her to walk on her own. He lightly placed her on the ground, and stood close, in case she was still too dizzy to walk. It took Sakura a moment to get her bearings again, but soon she was stable, and fine walking on her own. "See, told you I'm fine," she said, with a slight bit of cockiness back in her voice. Now that Itachi no longer had a hold on her, she felt safer in teasing him again. Itachi held back a smile, though Sakura could see it in his eyes—he was glad to see her well once again. They continued on their trek in silence, all seemingly lost in their thoughts.

In no time at all it seemed, they had arrived back at their home sweet home. They all seemed to know that a serious talk was in order about how they should handle the situation. Sakura was still unaware as to why she had been kidnapped and by whom, and she wanted to know what Kakashi and Itachi had found out.

"So. . ." Sakura started, unsure of how to continue this conversation. She didn't want them to think she was terrified or anything, but she was incredibly curious, and slightly unnerved about the whole situation.

"We really don't know much more than you do princess. There were three men who kidnapped you, and we disposed of them. However, they did speak of a 'Leader' and two more 'members' who were meant to take you to their so called leader. I'm not entirely sure if they were just being careful not to let out sensitive information, or if they were just not well informed. I assume, because of how easily we took them out, that they were probably pawns, meant to deliver you to the higher ups," Itachi explained, the stress of the situation once again showing on his face, and he scratched his head slightly in thought. He couldn't hide how worried he had been when they had been unable to find her. She meant a lot to him—err. . . the team—and Kakashi had been just as worried.

"What on earth would they want with me though? I mean, I don't think I'm special enough to be sought out by a crazy group who wants to kidnap me," Sakura said, openly expressing her feelings on the matter. She thought about it, and it just seemed utterly ridiculous to her. Sure, she was well known for being a medic-nin in Konoha, but why anyone else would know who she was, was beyond her. She couldn't help but think maybe it was just a coincidence, and it held no real significance.

"I'm not sure Sakura, but I do believe we need to report this to the Hokage," Kakashi said, with a slight urgency in his tone—he didn't want to take any chances. "I know we shouldn't abandon a mission, but I feel in this case it might be necessary to inform the Tsunade as soon as possible. They seemed quite insistent that Sakura had to be taken to the Leader, and that makes me nervous. We don't know how big this organization could be, and I think attempting to tackle it on our own could be a suicide mission when we are so unprepared." Kakashi finished his speech and took a deep, calming breath. He spoken so quickly that he had forgotten to breathe, and now his lungs were protesting their lack of oxygen. He shook his head a little, trying to clear the bad thoughts from his head, and analyze the situation with a clear mind. Itachi had placed himself more in the corner of the cave, and seemed to be deeply contemplating how they should proceed.

"I believe I agree with you Kakashi, we don't know what these people are capable of and we are very low on supplies of any kind because of the nature of this mission. We also don't know if these people will attempt to capture Sakura again. Just because they failed one time does not mean they will give up." The more Itachi spoke about the situation, the more anxious he became, though he did not allow that to show on his face. Regardless of Itachi's inner turmoil over the situation, he had a job as the captain of this team to make the best decision. "Yes," he said, finally seeming set in his resolve to get them back to Konoha as soon as possible. "Grab your packs, and put your headsets on. . . just in case. I believe we won't make it very far tonight, but I believe it will be safer for us to move from this location, in case they have been secretly watching us." Itachi's reasoning seemed spot on to Kakashi, and he moved quickly to grab his pack, and prepare himself for the trip ahead of them.

"We need to go southwest from here to make our way back to Konoha, so prepare yourselves to run for at least a few hours. I believe we are on the southern end of Lightning Country, as I imagine Tsunade would not have time to get us very far into the country before we woke up. We will head mainly west for probably a day's worth of traveling, and then we will head south, right back into Fire Country." Itachi continued on with his detailed explanation of their plans, while Sakura was busy clearing away any evidence that would confirm their presence here. They all put their packs on, and mentally prepared themselves for hours of running, when they were already exhausted.

"Alright, let's move out." As Itachi spoke the commanding words, Sakura and Kakashi wordlessly followed him out of the cave, and they ran to the west; the setting sun their only light and means of direction in this harsh environment.

* * *

**AN: **And there you have it! The end of the third chapter. I really like this chapter much better than the previous two, as I kinda feel I'm getting back into the swing of writing. But do please let me know your thoughts. . .Don't be shy =). As always reviews are appreciated and loved. Until next time. . . Ja ne!


	4. The Plan

**Smoke and Mirrors**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, all rights to Masashi Kishimoto, and I make no money from this story.

**AN: **Yay! An update. I know, I know. . . Don't yell at me please. It's only, what three days past when I said I would get this chapter posted? If some of you didn't know, I posted a note in my profile about the lateness of this update. So for future reference, if it's been more than three weeks or so since I last updated, go and check my profile cause I've most likely posted a note about it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter three! Anyways, again, sorry for the delay, but I hope you all enjoy the new chapter =).

* * *

Chapter Four: The Plan

Feet silently pounded against the trees, relentlessly pushing ahead. Itachi had run them to exhaustion, pushing all of their bodies to their limits; the sweat that dripped along their bodies left trails that zigzagged down their skin before falling to the ground. They all wordlessly felt the direness of the situation, and didn't complain about being pushed so hard. Sakura crunched down on her second soldier pill, wincing slightly as the indescribable taste spread over her tongue. She quickly swallowed it, willing the taste to leave her mouth as swiftly as possible. Kakashi also seemed to be suffering from the flavor as she saw him make a pained face—scrunching his nose as his mouth fell into a deep set frown. Sakura gave Kakashi a quick glance, sharing in his silent anguish; she never understood why they made soldier pills so atrocious. Sakura felt the energy surging inside of her body as her chakra levels once again increased to acceptable levels, and her stamina came back tenfold. She increased her speed once again, keeping in time with Itachi, as they rushed forward to Konoha.

Sakura had been deep in thought as they raced towards their home. What on earth could they want with her. . . Sure, maybe she had become slightly famous as a medic nin, though that seemed to be no reason to attempt to kidnap her. Sakura fumbled through her thoughts attempting to come up with some kind of explanation for the events that had transpired, but she came up empty. Part of her couldn't shake the feeling that she had to do something about this. She couldn't just sit by as her friends once again took the lead in trying to save her. She knew this wasn't the time nor the place for such thoughts, and she let it go as they were finally nearing Konoha.

They had been running at such a rapid pace for so long that Sakura's legs wobbled slightly as they slowed, finally reaching their destination. Still, no words were spoken between the team as they hastily walked to the Hokage's tower. They noiselessly jumped through the window into Tsunade's office; Sakura and Kakashi stretched out their sore muscles as Itachi went to inform Tsunade of the current situation.

Tsunade listened intently as Itachi explained the events both leading up to Sakura's capture and her subsequent liberation. Kakashi and Sakura stayed quiet as Itachi had no problem informing the Hokage of every small event and detail that transpired. Tsunade rested her head on her hands for a moment, seemingly in deep thought. A few moments later, she raised her head and prepared herself to address the team.

"I haven't been entirely honest with you, because I was certain that they wouldn't move so quickly. The group that you've informed me of is known as the Akatsuki. We have been secretly monitoring their movements for some time now, trying our best to figure out their motives. As of yet, we are still unaware as to what the groups plans are, and if they will be a harm to Konoha or not. Though, now with our new information it's safe to assume they could mean us harm in the long run. I do apologize for not informing you sooner, though we thought it was best to keep it a secret until we were sure they were dangerous." As Tsunade spoke the team could see the regret that made its way to her features. They could only imagine how guilty she felt for not informing them and putting Sakura at such a risk. The more Sakura watched the silent war that waged in both Tsunade's and her teammates eyes the more agitated she seemed to become. They had no reason to be so upset. . . She was fine for god's sake. . . There was no need for such a reaction. If the same thing had happened to Itachi or Kakashi she knew the reaction would be far different, and she couldn't help but feel incredibly irked.

"Everyone, please stop looking like that. . . It's driving me nuts. I'm fine as you can easily see. I'm here and I'm alive. I don't understand why you are all getting so upset over this. Shit like this happens all the time so would everyone please calm the fuck down. I'm so tired of those looks you're all giving me. . . It's just utterly ridiculous." Sakura finished her rant, breaking the dead silence of the room. She was absolutely fuming and she felt the sudden urge to punch something into oblivion. "If we're done here I'd like to get back to my apartment and shower," she stated, bringing herself back to a calm demeanor. Tsunade nodded in consent, allowing Sakura to leave the office as Itachi and Kakashi could finish the report and collect their information.

As Sakura treaded back to her apartment she couldn't stop her anger and annoyance from coming back once again. She had made it to ANBU dammit. . . why couldn't they see that she wasn't a child anymore. It was so angering to her as she thought she had been finally rid of the treatment she had always received from them. They always handled her like she was a breakable doll, like she was incapable of doing anything for herself. Even Tsunade, who seemed to sing her praises, always treated Sakura differently—treated her like she needed to be cared for. She was a ninja for god's sake, getting hurt is kind of in the job description. . . Why was everyone trying so hard to protect her when she didn't need protecting. Even Naruto and Sasuke were still guilty of it. Sakura felt like it was completely inescapable; why did everyone seem to act like they respected her for her skill and strength, but then turn around and treat her like a child? Sakura decided she had let this go on long enough, something needed to be done. . . Something drastic.

* * *

". . .and that's all we know so far about the Akatsuki. Again, I do so apologize for keeping this from you, but we really had no idea they would make a move like that so soon." Tsunade had finished relaying the information to Kakashi and Itachi, and they sat silently thinking of a proper move to make.

"Do you believe it's best that we investigate this further now Tsunade-sama?" Itachi asked, sighing as the thought of putting Sakura once again in danger made him anxious.

"I believe it's best that you two at least get a day or two of rest before I send you out on another long mission. I know Sakura will be upset over this, but we can't have her leaving the village when she is the one they are looking for. It will be better to keep her safe here, and you two will go on a scouting mission. You must find anything and everything you possibly can to give us a clue as to the Akatsuki's plans and motives. You will depart in two days time, so rest up. And please, break it to Sakura lightly. I imagine she'll be pounding down my door when she hears she won't be going on this mission. But please, try to let her know it's all for her safety and it must be done this way.

"Understood Tsunade-sama, we will inform Sakura as soon as possible and prepare for our departure in two days time," Itachi responded, giving her a slight bow of respect and jumping back out the window in which they had come.

"So who should tell her?" Kakashi asked, hoping to god that Itachi would take on the responsibility. As Kakashi had learned over the years, dealing with an angry Sakura was not something he enjoyed.

"Kakashi you're such a coward when it comes to our little cherry blossom aren't you?" Itachi asked, laughing slightly at Kakashi's obvious terror in telling Sakura things she did not want to hear. "Yes I will tell her don't worry." Kakashi nodded his head in thanks and ran off towards his apartment—some serious rest was dearly needed. Itachi sighed as he began his walk to Sakura's apartment. He knew he needed to get this over as soon as possible, though he dreaded the possible pain involved in telling Sakura something she didn't want to hear. He could only hope that he would make it out of her apartment alive.

* * *

Shikamaru had run the situation through every corner of his brain, and still, he was left with the same conclusion. They didn't know enough information to really do anything but return to Konoha and notify the Hokage. He knew that leaving a mission like this was not something they should be doing, but the more he thought it over the more he decided it was probably in their best interest. He finally weighed the risks enough to decide that returning to Konoha was their best decision, and they needed to act fast.

"Naruto, Sasuke, we're going to head back to Konoha now as I'm cutting this mission short. I've dissected this situation every way I possibly could, and I believe it's best if we inform the Hokage of the situation and return to Konoha," Shikamaru finished, rummaging through his pack to make sure he had everything he needed. Naruto opened his mouth to complain, but Sasuke quickly reached around and covered his mouth before Naruto caused a fight. He knew Naruto was probably a bit peeved that Shikamaru hadn't really listened to him in the first place when he thought it was actually serious; though, it was Shikamaru's decision in the long run and Naruto was just going to have to learn to deal with it.

"Alright Shikamaru, we'll head out whenever you're ready," Sasuke responded, picking up his things as well and preparing himself for the long trip ahead of them. Naruto slowly nodded his head in consent, trying to hold back his annoyance at the situation. No one ever listened to him and it was starting to get on his nerves. He had known from the very beginning that those men were trouble, and Shikamaru just seemed to be figuring that out now. It was very unlike Naruto to keep his mouth shut in a situation like this, but he could feel how torn up Shikamaru was about not listening to him sooner, so for Shikamaru's sake he let it go—well, and he figured avoiding a couple hits from Sasuke wasn't a bad plan either. Within ten minutes time the team had removed all traces of their presence and prepared to leave. It was a long run back to Konoha, but they knew they had to get back as quickly as possible.

* * *

Sakura stepped into her shower, the cold tile that touched her feet sent a chill throughout her entire body. She reached her hand out to grasp the shower handle, turning the water as hot as it could go. She punched her fists against the hard tile of the wall, leaving indentations where her fists had landed. Normally, Sakura hated destroying her own property, but right now it was either this or taking off the heads of her teammates—she decided destroying her shower wall was preferable. She let the hot water stream down her face, so hot that it almost felt like it was scalding her skin; though, Sakura always preferred her showers this way as she was not one for cold showers no matter the circumstance. As the hot water washed down her body so did part of Sakura's anger. She finally felt as if she could breathe again, as if her anger wasn't completely overtaking her body.

Sakura wasn't one to hide her faults, and her anger was definitely a fault of hers. She couldn't seem to help how riled up she always got, and she hated how it affected her so much. This is why she cherished these moments of silence where she could collect her thoughts and calm her anger. She knew making a decision based solely on anger was a bad idea, so thus she was calming down before she became set in her choice. She always knew that if she came to the same conclusions when she was calm as she had when she was angry, it normally turned out to be a good decision in the long run.

Sakura finally finished rinsing the conditioner out of her hair and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped her hair up in her towel so it could dry some, and she lay down on her bed. She wrapped herself up in her blankets and snuggled into her bed, attempting to get as comfortable as possible. _'It must be done this way,'_ she thought. She could think of no other way to handle the situation. _'You can do it on your own. . . You can show them.'_ Once that thought had popped into her head it was useless trying out any other scenario. Sakura had never in her life thought of doing something so reckless, so against orders, so against her character. Though, that fact right there was probably why they still viewed her as a child, as someone quite incapable of caring for themselves. They would never see her as an equal until something drastic was done. She was going to force them to listen to her, and force them to accept that she was finally capable of handling any situation. Now all that was left to do was wait until tonight, and let her plan fall into place.

Sakura felt herself losing consciousness as sleep began to overtake her. She gripped her comforter tighter as her towel slipped off of her head. She pushed the offending item to the floor and snuggled back into bed. Sakura needed her rest if her plan was going to proceed tonight, though of course, things never seem to work out well for her. And as always, one person always seemed to be the cause of her unrest and annoyance. Itachi. She heard him enter her room but continued to keep her eyes shut, attempting to avoid dealing with him. However, Itachi was not one so easily fooled, and new instantly that she was, in fact, awake.

"How can I help you asshole," Sakura groaned out, wanting nothing more than to get some well deserved rest. Though Itachi obviously seemed to have other plans.

"I came to inform you of the Hokage's decision about our next mission. It seems she has decided. . . For fuck's sake Sakura could you at least open your eyes and give me your attention as I speak to you?" Itachi snapped, quite frustrated as she continued to lie in bed with her eyes closed, paying him no mind. Itachi normally kept his cool quite well, but Sakura was able to easily destroy the calm exterior that he had worked so hard to maintain. Sakura grumbled but opened her eyes slightly, glaring at him through slits of her eyelids.

"My eyes are open your highness, please continue," she quipped, not at all in the mood to deal with anyone, least of all Itachi. Itachi chose to ignore her smart remark and continued on with his explanation.

"As I was saying. . . the Hokage has decided that it would be best if you stayed in the village for awhile. I know you aren't going to like this, but it's for your safety. The Hokage is sending Kakashi and I out on a scouting mission to discover anything we can about the Akatsuki, and while I'm sure you believe that you need to be on this mission as well, it's the Hokage's order that you stay here." Itachi finished, shocked that he had managed to say that much without an outburst from Sakura; though, now that he had finished he imagined the outburst was on its way.

Sakura shut her eyes once again, as she was actually expecting Itachi to say something along those lines. She knew all those idiots would make her stay in the village. She laughed silently to herself, knowing Itachi's eyes were going to bug out of his head when she had no reaction to his statement. She loved messing with him almost as much as he loved messing with her.

"I understand Itachi. . . you can let Tsunade-sama know that I accept her decision and I will attempt to keep my complaints to myself," she stated calmly. As she spoke she could see Itachi's eyes widening in shock—never in his life had he seen Sakura react so calmly to a situation before, and to be perfectly honest, it scared him slightly.

"Very well Sakura. . . I must say I'm quite shocked that you handled the situation so well, but it's nice to see you finally understand that your protection is of very high importance to us. And as your captain, I can't very well have you walking into enemy hands." Itachi spoke with care, trying his best to not say something that would unnecessarily anger her when she had handled the situation so nicely.

"Yeah, yeah Itachi. . . run off to Tsunade and tell her how well behaved I'm being and let me get some damn sleep. I'm quite exhausted so I would appreciate you leaving and letting me rest now," Sakura spoke in a quick tone, attempting to usher Itachi out of her house so she could get some sleep. Itachi nodded his head in consent.

"Alright princess, rest well. Don't worry about a thing. . . we will make sure no one harms you. I will see you soon," Itachi bowed slightly as he left her room, again attempting to appease Sakura the best he could. To say he was shocked by how she took the news was probably an understatement. Sakura never handled anything as well as she had handled that. Though maybe, just maybe, she was finally growing up a little. Itachi tried not to question it too much, as he imagined he would never again witness such a calm reaction.

As Itachi took his leave, Sakura's eyes once again drifted shut and a small smile graced her features. She couldn't believe he fell for such an act. She knew it was probably risky acting so calm, but she had to admit it worked perfectly. Now all that was left to do was wait it out, and she couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they all found out. _'If only you knew Itachi. . . if only you knew,'_ she thought, before drifting off in a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Hey asshole! You fucking tripped me!" Naruto yelled out as he fell from the trees and landed on the hard ground. He sat up quickly, attempting to rub away the pain that had collected in his ass.

"I didn't trip you dobe, you're just clumsy. Now get your ass back up here so we can keep going," Sasuke responded, waiting on a tree branch. Shikamaru was a few branches ahead of them waiting impatiently.

"I'm not clumsy you jerk, you just tripped me and you're blaming it on me. I'm better than you at everything you know! And that includes running through the trees. . . and it doesn't count that you tripped me. That's cheating," Naruto spoke up, seemingly intending to cause a fight. Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his temples lightly. Everything was a competition between those two. They were just running. How those two had somehow made a competition out of it was beyond him. Though part of him suspected most of these 'competitions' were somehow orchestrated by Naruto, and Sasuke just went along with it.

"Calm down dobe we don't have time for this right now. We have to get back to Konoha quickly. Stop causing such a ruckus and let's go," Sasuke reprimanded. Naruto grumbled, not liking the tone Sasuke took. In all honesty, Naruto was just trying to lighten the mood. It had been so silent and dull that he felt they all needed a break from the silence. And in typical Naruto fashion, causing a fight with Sasuke was what he was best at.

"Fine Sasuke, you take all my fun away," Naruto complained, standing up and jumping back into the tree top next to Sasuke.

"Are we done now?" Shikamaru asked, tapping his foot slightly in his impatience.

"Yup, let's go," Naruto spoke, moving like he was going to start running again. Though last minute, he pushed Sasuke out of the tree. "You're it Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, running away at lightning speed. Sasuke looked bewildered as he sat on the ground, but quickly caught on to Naruto's little game.

"You asked for it Naruto," Sasuke responded, quickly getting back up and following after Naruto. Shikamaru knew nothing he said was going to stop the little game these two had, and he was glad they would at least be moving quickly. He let those two run on ahead and he followed behind them, hoping that Naruto had enough sense to at least run in the proper direction. He increased his speed slightly so as to keep them in his sight. He never knew what to expect being partnered with Naruto and Sasuke, and he was actually having a bit of fun watching their antics, though he'd never admit it. He appreciated the 'mood-lightening affect' that Naruto seemed to have on everyone. He smirked a little as he continued on after them. _'Yeah,'_ he thought, _'this team won't be too bad.'_

_

* * *

_

Sakura awoke hours later, the glare of the setting sun streamed through her window, casting a light glow. She placed her arms over her head, interlacing her fingers and stretching out her tense back. Sakura yawned slightly, but finally managed to roll herself out of bed. She knew she had to get a move on even though staying in bed was quite tempting. She trudged to the kitchen to make a new pot of coffee, as coffee was going to be quite essential in staying awake tonight. As the hot, steamy goodness began pouring into the pot she walked back to her room to change and pack a few things.

Sakura wasn't wearing anything special, just her regular ANBU garb. She grabbed a small bag that could be easily carried; a light and unobtrusive bag that wouldn't weigh her down any, but could still fit her belongings. She threw a few changes of clothing into the bag, mostly including her ANBU clothing; though, she also added one pair of civilian clothing as she wasn't quite sure what to expect. Once she was fully satisfied with her choice in clothing, she grabbed a few toiletries. Luckily enough she had some small travel sized containers of shampoo and conditioner that wouldn't weight her down too much. After throwing in her toothbrush and hairbrush alongside the shampoo and conditioner, she decided she had packed everything she needed. With one final zip she secured the backpack and threw it on her bed, where it would sit until she was ready to go. As she began walking out of her room to relish in the sweet taste of coffee, she remembered that she had forgotten to pack her razor, which she quickly grabbed and added to the increasing pile of her belongings. If there was one thing Sakura hated, it was that itchy feeling she got on her legs when she waited too long to shave. No matter where she went or what she was doing she didn't want to forget something so imperative.

Finally, Sakura was able to leave her room and pour herself a nice hot cup of coffee. She decided to take her cup and jump up onto the roof to drink it while she watched the sun set. As she moved with ease to the roof, she sat down and began once again thinking over her decision. She knew it had to be done if she was ever going to get any respect from, not only her teammates, but from the Hokage. Sakura sighed, taking a small sip of the steaming drink. She was no fool, she knew what she was attempting was not only dangerous, but partly suicidal. Though Sakura couldn't help but think, nothing ventured nothing gained, the statement that seemed to keep repeating itself in her head over and over. She was strong, damn strong, and she was smart. Sakura knew she could handle this mission she had assigned herself, and she knew, somehow someway, that she would come out on top.

Her mind wandered to her closest friends, Naruto and Sasuke. She couldn't stifle the laugh that fell through her lips as she thought of her brothers. Boy were they going to be pissed when they came home. Though, part of her knew they would understand; Naruto of all people would understand why she wanted to do this, why she had to do this. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to understand Sakura the best, as they had known her the longest, and part of her was counting on them convincing Tsunade not to do anything brash. She knew her shishou was not one to always use her head, especially when it came to people she loved so dearly.

As her thoughts left Naruto and Sasuke and fell onto Tsunade, she couldn't help but once again give a short laugh. Sure, Naruto and Sasuke were going to be pissed as hell, but she could only imagine the havoc her shishou would wreak. She hoped that after a nice long yelling session, and possibly some damage to Konoha, that Tsunade would calm down and see the bigger picture, see that what Sakura was doing was necessary. Sure, it could be handled in a different way, but Sakura had to do this, and if they cared for her they would understand that. She imagined that out of everyone, Kakashi would probably take it the best. He loved her as much as the rest, though she believed that Kakashi would be the first to truly understand her reasoning, and to accept it. Well, she could only hope.

She tried to keep thinking of her friends, though that pesky little asshole was somehow worming his way into her thoughts. She tried her best to shoo him out of her head and let him bother someone else, but in the end he prevailed. Itachi. Just his name seemed to piss her off nowadays. He was just so completely infuriating. She couldn't stand his stupidly irritating smirk, his too cool and calm demeanor, his ability to excel at everything he did, and that horrible way he always called her princess instead of speaking her name. Absolutely everything about him irked her more than she could probably ever express; though, she couldn't help but want so badly for him to once, just once, appreciate her strength. . . appreciate her ability. For him to finally see that she's not a child anymore, to accept that she was more than capable of, not only caring for herself, but caring for those around her. She shook her head free of the thoughts that continued to flow through her mind. She had to let that go now. . . what she was doing now was so much more than just impressing her team. Sakura was going to be fighting for her life, and this was no time to be sulking. She had to leave these kinds of emotions here in Konoha, and act like the ANBU operative that she was.

The sun had finally set and the darkened night began taking over. Sakura looked up to the sky and noticed it was a new moon, the darkest time of the year in the night sky. She missed the beauty of the moon guiding her, but she also appreciated the added darkness that the lack of the moon gave her. Unknowingly, Sakura had chosen the best time of the month to leave. She slipped back into her room and grabbed her pack, throwing it over her shoulders, and placed her coffee cup in the kitchen. She stood at the threshold of her tiny apartment, glancing back over her shoulder, and giving her home one last small smile. She had to admit she was going to miss the comforts of being home, but she was going to have to suck it up and kick some ass. With that being her last thought, she closed her door, and ran out into the darkness.

With such darkness as her cover, Sakura was sure that no one would see her leaving. Though, as always, what Sakura hopes and what actually happens are two very different things. She had almost reached the limit of the village, when that infuriating voice called out to her.

"And where do you think you're going at such a late hour princess?" And there it was. . . the one thing Sakura had hoped more than anything she wouldn't have to deal with that night. Sakura skidded to a halt, throwing the nastiest glance she possibly could at Itachi; though in afterthought she realized he probably couldn't see it because of the darkness. She cursed her luck.

"Itachi. . . I'm quite busy at the moment so I would appreciate you fucking off," Sakura snarled, not in the least bit in the mood to deal with his antics.

"Now now love, no need to be so harsh. I'm simply asking a question. Anyone would be curious as to where their teammate was going so late at night, especially when she's supposed to be staying in the village. Or have you forgotten the criminal group that's out looking for you?" Itachi questioned, his voice hinting on the stern side.

"Itachi listen, I really don't have time to listen to your bullshit right now. In case you hadn't noticed I'm on my way to do something that has nothing to do with you. So please, do us all a favor, and mind your own damn business," Sakura replied, attempting once again to turn to leave. Itachi grabbed a hold on her arm and pulled her close to his chest. He turned his face down to hers to stare directly into her eyes, a moment Sakura deemed much to intimate.

"Sakura," he spoke her name quietly, almost carefully. "I know what you think you're doing is going to pan out perfectly in your favor, but you have to realize that your safety in our priority right now. And how on earth do you expect us to protect you when you're going running off straight into their waiting arms," he finished, the worry in his voice quickly made it to Sakura's ears, and she could feel the anger welling up inside her. She should have been surprised that he had figured her plan out so quickly, but Itachi was a genius, and she really shouldn't have expected any less.

"Itachi you're so fucking dense. Why do none of you get it!" she shouted, pushing herself out of his arms and standing in a defensive position. "That's the fucking point you idiot! I don't want you guys to keep me safe. I can keep myself safe. . . I don't need your help nor your protection. Can't you see how tired I am of you all treating me like this. . . treating me like a baby that needs to be coddled. I got to ANBU just the same as Naruto and Sasuke. So why do you all insist on treating me like I'm a five year old child!" Sakura was utterly fuming by this point. All the anger that she had yet to express to him was finally coming out, and she couldn't seem to stop it.

"I'm your teammate Itachi, not a baby that needs to be held. I'm just as capable as everyone else, and until I do something serious, none of you are going to see it. You have to understand how hard it is for me to watch you and Kakashi so easily accept that Naruto and Sasuke are fine on their own; yet, with me, you feel like you have to hold my hand the whole way, and I'm so tired of it. I'm going now, whether you like it or not. I don't care what you tell Tsunade, or what you have to say about it, but this is my mission and you will not fuck this up for me. I'm sure you know quite well that if everyone comes after me I imagine they'd kill me in no time flat, so if you want me to stay alive and come home, I suggest you keep your distance and let me do what I have to do." Sakura finished her long rant, and took a deep breath, not realizing that she had spoken so quickly that she had forgotten to breathe. She gave Itachi one last glance and turned to leave, only to have him grab her wrist once again and pull her close.

Sakura immediately felt that they were standing entirely too close, and this was a way too intimate moment with him, and to be perfectly honest. . . it completely terrified her. Sakura stood there looking up at Itachi as he looked down at her, feeling completely uncomfortable. She needed to escape this situation and fast.

"Itachi. . . I. . ." Sakura attempted to say before a pair of lips covered hers without warning. Her eyes shot open as Itachi's lips pressed more firmly against her own. She didn't know what to do or how to react. Itachi. . . was kissing her. Her mind was in a complete haze. It took a moment for Sakura to realize how nice it actually felt, having Itachi hold her like this, kiss her like this. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and she couldn't help but feel safe as he held her close. She felt his lips move slightly, kissing her at a different angle; though, all the while he kept it entirely simple. As Sakura finally closed her eyes and accepted that Itachi was, in fact, kissing her it began to feel quite nice—just the pressure of his lips on hers. Itachi finally pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, and took in a quick breath as the lack of oxygen was getting to him.

"Please Sakura. . . please be safe," he said, pressing another quick kiss to her lips, and moving on to press a kiss to her forehead. Sakura was unable to do anything but nod her head, as his kiss had, quite literally, taken her breath away. She turned to leave, throwing a final glance over her shoulder, and finally running in an unknown direction.

In reality, all Sakura knew was that hopefully if she ran around enough they would find her. Part of her actually hoped they people who tried to kidnap her would be close by, just waiting for their chance to capture her again. While this thought should have scared her, it only thrilled her more that she was on her way to actually doing something on her own. Sakura's thoughts drifted back to the kiss Itachi had given her. What on earth had prompted him to do such a thing. . . she couldn't begin to understand what was going on in the idiots mind. She hated to admit how right it felt having him kiss her like that. No, she wouldn't think about that right now as she had more pressing matters to deal with at this moment. Now where on earth were those Akatsuki members. . . They had better find her quickly.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise as Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Naruto had finally made their way back to Konoha. It had been a long journey and they were all beyond exhaustion, though they knew reporting to Tsunade had to be their first order of business. And then sleep, they decided—most definitely sleep. As they jumped through the Hokage's window, they could all immediately feel Tsunade's somber mood. They looked at Tsunade to see her head resting in her hands, her bangs obscuring her face from their sight.

"Hey granny, we're back. Are you all right you look pretty upset. What's going on?" Naruto asked bluntly, as he was not one for subtleties.

"Sakura's gone," she spoke silently, lifting her head slightly to look them in the eyes. They could see traces of tears on Tsunade's face. The three teammates immediately thought the worst, and needed some clarification.

"What do you mean she's gone Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked, stepping forward.

"We're all such idiots," she spoke, her voice gaining strength. "Sakura left the village to chase after the Akatsuki on her own. . . I imagine you know of them and that's why you've come back from the mission early. Sakura left to handle them on her own because we were all so blind. We didn't realize how angry Sakura was with all of us for treating her like she needed to be protected. I believe I understand that now. . . I understand why she left. We all have to be strong for her, and patiently wait for any information she can give us." When Tsunade finished, they could see the strength that had come back to her face. It was rare that Tsunade showed such weakness in the presence of others, though they could understand what had gotten her so shaken.

"What do you mean granny. . . we have to go after her right now! We have to help her!" Naruto spoke out, an uncomfortable look gracing his features. It made him anxious that Sakura was out on her own on a mission where she could possibly not come home.

"No Naruto, Tsunade-sama is correct. We have to let Sakura do this on her own. Don't worry so much dobe she'll be fine. We all know that she's strong, and here is her chance to prove that strength to all of us. I know that she will return alive, we just have to be patient," Sasuke spoke, reinforcing Tsunade's words. She was grateful that Sasuke had spoke up, as it seemed Sasuke was one of the only people Naruto ever really listened to. Naruto looked like he was going to fight with Sasuke, but finally seemed to come to the realization that they were all right. Sakura needed this chance. . . they had all pushed her to do this.

"Alright granny, I understand. You can catch me up on this Akatsuki business later, but right now I need to shower and sleep," Naruto stated, turning to leave. Sasuke reached to stop him, but Tsunade nodded her head, indicating that it was alright if they left and returned later.

"I will stay and give the report," Shikamaru stated, going to stand in front of Tsunade's desk. "You two can head back and rest, as only one person really needs to be here to give a report. I will update you two later tonight." Naruto and Sasuke nodded their head in thanks and took their leave. Shikamaru relayed everything he knew to Tsunade, and she in turn updated him on all of their current information. As this exchange took place Naruto and Sasuke were walking back, in silence, to their apartments. Regret weighed heavily on both of their minds. If only they had given Sakura the respect she deserved, if only they had known she would do something so drastic. Though, now was not the time to dwell on the situation, now was the time to be strong for Sakura, and have hope that she would pull through this suicidal mission. Naruto and Sasuke turned to one another and smiled, both thinking the same thing. Sakura was gonna kick some ass.

* * *

Sakura had awoken around the time that everyone had returned to the village, and she awoke to a very disturbing sound. She heard the distinct sound of crunching leaves not far off to her right. She quickly reached for her pack and pulled out two kunai, ready to defend herself. She was going to shoot to kill if anyone from Konoha had stumbled upon her, as she thought she had made her point quite clear. Itachi was definitely going to regret it if he followed her.

"God, shut up, yeah. You talk incessantly and I'm going to blow you up soon if you don't shut the fuck up. I don't care if leader says I have to partner with you, I promise I'll make it look like an accident," an unknown voice stated seriously. Sakura knew she should hide, but the purpose of this mission was to get caught, so she knew she'd have to wait it out. She wasn't even sure if these were the people looking for her, but she'd find out soon.

"No no Deidara-senpai! Tobi is a good boy he promises he'll be good. Tobi just loves to talk, Tobi can't help it! And you always listen so nicely senpai," the other voice responded, much more childlike in its nature. Before the first voice had a chance to respond, they had stumbled upon Sakura.

"Well well look at what we've got here," the first voice spoke. Sakura observed the two men that had finally reached her. They both wore black cloaks with red clouds covering them. The first one who spoke had long blonde hair which was pulled up into a ponytail. One long bang covered his left eye, giving him an air of mysteriousness. The second one who spoke wore a bright orange spiral mask with only one hole for his eye. He had dark black spiky hair that lay haphazardly upon his head. As they approached her, the one with the orange mask was bouncing slightly from side to side as the blonde haired man stood still, seemingly quite annoyed with his partners behaviors.

"For fucks sake Tobi, sit still dammit," Deidara spoke harshly, not in the mood to put up with his shit; though, he was never really in the mood to put up with Tobi's shit.

"Look it's the pink haired thing! We finally found her yay! Leader-san will be so happy!" Tobi spoke, seemingly quite overjoyed at the prospect of finding her.

"Whoa now asshole, I'm not a thing. . . I'm a person," Sakura spoke up for the first time, not appreciating being called a 'thing'.

"Hmm, you seem to be a feisty little thing sweetheart," Deidara spoke, though before he could say anything else, a fist was flying at his face.

"For the love of god don't you dare call me sweetheart. These nickname things are not going to work out well if we're going to be traveling together, so I suggest you keep your nicknames to yourself," she said angrily. Having Itachi call her princess was enough to drive her nuts, and she was not about to let some stranger call her sweetheart.

"Chill out there babe, I mean uh. . . Sakura," Deidara replied, seeing the look of confusion on her face when he had called her by name. "Leader has told us a lot about you, we are meant to bring you to him."

"That's why I'm here genius. I left my village to come be a part of whatever the hell you have going on with your 'Leader' person," Sakura replied, sounding confident. She was proud at how easily the lies came to her.

"Well, I guess that makes our job a hell of a lot easier then. Come with us pinky," he spoke, Sakura sending an intense glare his way. "Yeah, yeah Sakura. I meant Sakura. Such a temper you have," he quipped. Sakura rolled her eyes, another idiot she was going to have to deal with. Yay for her.

"Hello Sakura! Tobi is very glad to meet you, and Tobi promises to call you Sakura and not pinky since you hate it so much. Tobi doesn't like getting hit," Tobi spoke, and lowered his head as if he were sad. She couldn't see his expression, though she could hear it in his voice, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle this one.

"Um, it's nice to meet you too?" she asked, with a slight questioning tone. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting when she met the men who were attempting to kidnap her, but this was definitely not it.

"Well Sakura," Deidara spoke, putting an emphasis on her name. "Before we head out I'm gonna need you to hand over your weapons. . . Can't have you attacking us in our sleep now can we?" Deidara asked, reaching his hand out to receive the two kunai that had been in her hands. "And the weapons in your pack," he added. Sakura grumbled slightly as not having her weapons made her uncomfortable, but she really expected nothing less from a group of missing nin. She unwillingly leafed through her pack pulling out weapons as she went. She also unstrapped a few hidden kunai from her body. After she had finally finished gathering all her weapons she dumped them into Deidara's waiting hand. He seemed satisfied as he stored all her weapons in his own pack. He gave her one more look before giving her a quick smile.

"Nice try sweetheart, but I'm going to need that kunai you've strapped on the inside of your right shoe," he said with a smirk. _'Dammit, he saw right through it,'_ she thought, pulling her last hidden kunai and throwing it blade first at his face. He caught it with ease and laughed slightly. "You can't get anything past me so don't even try, yeah."

"Alright, so where are we headed then oh fearless leader," Sakura asked, curious as to where their hideout would be. She figured it was far away considering there was no other way a group of missing nin could remain missing.

"That, sweetheart, is for us to know and you to find out," he spoke, obviously ignoring her blatant request to quit with the pet names. She figured she would get him for it another time, as right now her top priority was getting to the hideout, and somehow making their leader accept her. She knew that this going to be one hell of a mission, and she couldn't wait.

* * *

**AN:** And there you have it. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and I will try my best to get chapter five out asap. And as always, your reviews are appreciated and loved! Until next time. . . Ja ne!


	5. The Beginning

**Smoke and Mirrors**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, all rights to Masashi Kishimoto, and I make no money from this story.

**AN: **Yay chapter five! It's finally done. I've been working on this chapter every single day this week, trying to make it perfect. I really like how it turned out, and I hope you guys like it too. I wanted to apologize for sounding like such a whining bitch in the previous AN. I hope you guys aren't mad about that. But thank you thank you thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited. The amount of response was just great, which is why I really wanted to make this a good chapter for everyone. It's a little bit shorter than the previous chapter but I didn't want it to drag on too long. I hope you guys all enjoy it, and I will try to get working on the next chapter asap. Love to you all! 3

***Update 2/1/11*** Hey guys just wanted to let you know that I added a small paragraph to the part where Sakura is figuring out how to treat Pain, to give a little more insight into why she's doing it. I got an anonymous reviewer that was confused as to why Sakura was healing Pain, and I realized that I had worked the reasoning out in my head, but never wrote it down. So thanks so much for pointing it out! I wish you would have logged in so I could have responded to your review, but I appreciated you pointing out something that I missed. Cause sometimes I have things worked out in my head that to me seem obvious, and while I do the best I can to express what's going on, sometimes I do leave stuff out. So again, thank you for pointing that out, and please don't be afraid to point out something that doesn't make sense.

I know this is quite a long update but I just want to make sure everyone understands what I'm thinking. Basically, Sakura voluntarily joined them so they currently have no reason to distrust her. They didn't kidnap her, as if you recall in the last chapter she willingly sought out Deidara and Tobi. And the whole reason Pain wanted her in the first place was to treat him, so trusting her seems kind of obvious to me. Also, like I explained in the paragraph I added, taking out Pain doesn't necessarily mean she's taking out the whole organization. And one less member doesn't really help matters at all. Basically Sakura would kill Pain, lose her life, and then Konoha would have no information on the group or their purpose (and I wouldn't really have a story). So really, it would all have been for nothing. I hope this clears up any confusion! And to my anonymous reviewer: I wasn't even remotely offended so no worries =).

* * *

Chapter Five: The Beginning

The lightning flashed brightly, making its presence known behind the dark, foreboding clouds; lighting them up in brilliant patterns that zigzagged across the opaque sky. The thunder that followed gave warning that staying outside in the storm any longer would be pure suicide. Sakura winced as the rain that pelted her body felt more like rocks falling from the sky instead of the harmless drops of water they were meant to be. The oversized drop that just connected with her left shoulder hit her so hard that it was likely to leave a bruise. She shot a quick look over to Deidara, who seemed to be frantically looking for somewhere to shelter themselves as the storm passed over. The wind continued to roar past her, pushing with a force she was unaccustomed to, and making traveling at their current speed increasingly difficult. The thunder cracked again and this time its warning seemed to resonate more heavily with Deidara and he made a frenzied gesture at Sakura, motioning for her to follow him.

The rain poured down so heavily Sakura couldn't see five feet in front of her, and was able to follow Deidara based on chakra signal alone. Once she felt him stop his movements altogether she slowed her pace and moved the arm that was shielding her eyes. She saw Deidara and Tobi had run into a dense forest, which seemed to have enough cover so as to protect them from the onslaught. As soon as she was far enough in that the trees covered her from the thunderstorm, she collapsed onto the ground and gasped for the needed air to refill her empty lungs.

"Everyone okay?" she asked quickly, slowing down her breathing so as not to get lightheaded. Deidara and Tobi, who had collapsed about ten feet away from her, gave her a small signal that they had somehow survived the torrential downpour. "We're gonna have to stay here till the storm lets up. I don't want to risk getting completely fried from the lightening."

"That was quite insightful Sherlock, thanks for that riveting observation," Deidara quipped, rolling onto his back and putting his hands behind his head. "Might as get some rest since we're obviously not going anywhere anytime soon." The swiftness with which Deidara fell asleep made Sakura give a small smile—the first one she'd shown since she left home.

"Miss Sakura, Tobi is going to get some rest too since senpai and I have not slept in days. Please rest as well so we can continue to the hideout tomorrow," Tobi said, in a much more muted tone than she had previously heard him speak in. She assumed the lack of sleep was a large contributing factor in this newfound behavior—though she much preferred the upbeat Tobi, as this serious Tobi put her much more on edge. Within minutes both Deidara and Tobi were fast asleep, showing no sign that they would wake up anytime soon.

Sakura moved herself to lean against the nearest tree, losing herself in thought. She had only been gone a few days but already thoughts of her teammates, her friends . . . Itachi . . . had crossed her mind. She tried to convince herself that thinking of them would only bring pain, but she was finding it impossible to avoid. She knew she had to be strong to complete the mission, but who knew how long it was going to last. Months? Years? How long was she going to be stuck pretending with the Akatsuki. In hindsight, Sakura reasoned she probably should have considered all options before throwing herself headlong into something she didn't quite understand; but, if Naruto could always run blindly into situations and somehow have a positive outcome, so could she. The more she thought of her teammates and friends, the more she realized they were her strength, and somehow thinking of them would get her through this seemingly impossible mission.

The thoughts of her teammates were dangerous however, because they always led her right into thoughts of Itachi—and those thoughts needed to be avoided at all costs. _'Why . . ._' she thought, _'why would he kiss me like that knowing I was leaving . . . he didn't even explain himself! I should have killed him for kissing me like that . . . he's meant to be my enemy, my rival . . . I just don't understand what he was thinking.'_ She finished her thought with a deep sigh, knowing there was never any comprehensible reasoning behind Itachi's actions—at least none that ever made sense to Sakura's, so called, rational mind. With Itachi being her last coherent thought, the sounds of the thunderstorm lulled her into the first deep sleep she'd had in weeks.

* * *

Sakura woke the next morning to a sharp, jabbing pain in her lower back. _'Well, I guess that's what I get for sleeping so awkwardly against a tree,'_ Sakura thought, raising her arms over her head and doing her best to stretch out her sore muscles. She threw a quick glance over to where Deidara and Tobi had passed out the night before, and was surprised to see that they were nowhere in sight. Sakura stood quickly and surveyed the surrounding area, looking for evidence of where they might have gone; however, before she could finish her appraisal she saw Deidara's obnoxious blonde hair sauntering back towards her. There was a gleam of laughter in Deidara's eyes when he noticed Sakura's frantic search.

"Ah Pinky, don't look so frightened we haven't abandoned you," Deidara laughed.

"I wasn't frightened asshole, I was just . . . concerned that you'd get your ass handed to you when your 'Leader' found out that you left me behind," Sakura barked, not at all pleased with the obnoxious tone he was taking.

"We had no intention of leaving you behind; we just ran the perimeter to make sure it was safe to continue on to the hideout. Can't be too careful you know."

"Yes Miss Sakura, senpai seems to like your presence too much to leave you behind," Tobi added, which was followed by a blushing Deidara hitting him over the head as hard as humanly possible.

"Shut up you idiot, yeah! Don't go talking about things you don't understand." Deidara quickly turned away so as to hide his face from further scrutiny. "Just hurry up, Konan is expecting us." No more was spoken as the three unlikely partners hurried their way to the hideout, Sakura's new home.

The rest of the trip seemed to pass by in a whirlwind of blurred images. They had been running for hours on end without rest, and Sakura was praying they would arrive soon. The moment she noticed Deidara and Tobi slow their movements she took in her surroundings, and was completely awed by what she saw. A towering waterfall crashed down into a large, but somehow quaint, crystal blue lake. The surrounding foliage in combination with the serene waterfall made Sakura feel like she was somehow on a picturesque deserted island, though she was quickly brought back to reality when Deidara motioned for her to continue onwards. She felt a roaring disappointment that this was not their final destination; however, she was renewed with hope when Deidara led them right behind the waterfall and finally stopped his movement.

"Alright Pinky, pay attention. To enter the hideout you must tap the rock in the following pattern, so don't forget it." Deidara ordered, and proceeded to show Sakura the combination of taps so she could be allowed entry. Sakura made sure to commit the pattern to memory, as she assumed forgetting it wasn't an option. When Deidara had finished the long combination, he took a step back and Sakura watched as the wall faded to nothing, opening up to a dark hallway that was lit by sporadic torches along the wall.

"That's impressive genjutsu," Sakura remarked, truly awed at the level of skill that illusion took to produce. Deidara only nodded in response, and led the way deeper into the dark cavern. It took Sakura a minute before her eyes were able to adjust to the sudden darkness. Though the sides of the dark hallway were lit by small torches, their flickering light was not enough for her to see clearly. The small heat that radiated from the fires filled Sakura with a sense of warmth and comfort; a feeling that shocked her slightly, considering her given situation should not elicit that kind of feeling. However, walking down the rocky hallway gave her a sense of security somehow, and she wasn't completely opposed to it. After minutes of walking they finally reached a split in the walkway, and it was at this moment that Deidara finally spoke to her.

"Alright, now pay attention so you don't get lost, yeah. The path to the far left leads to the bedrooms, the middle path leads to the bathrooms and the kitchen, and the right path leads to the main living area," Deidara spoke, motioning in turn to each of the designated pathways.

"Easy enough," remarked Sakura, quickly committing that to memory.

"Okay, follow me and I'll show you to your room," Deidara said, leading Sakura down the left hallway to her intended place of rest. Sakura slowly became used to the somber light that persisted through the passages, and was pleased that her vision was coming back. After another minute of walking they had finally reached the row of rooms, and Sakura promptly took a quick inventory, noting that there were only two rooms.

Sakura felt an unnerving sense of anxiety and asked, "Why are there only two rooms?" Her eyes shifted around the room in slight panic, hoping that she had somehow miscounted.

"Don't worry princess these are Kisame's and Tobi's rooms. Ours are around the corner, yeah," he remarked not missing the hint of panic that had showed in her eyes at the prospect of having to share her room.

"Don't . . . call me princess . . ." Sakura fumed, intent to kill suddenly covered her features.

"Ah struck a nerve there huh?" Deidara smirked, taking a step back and putting his hands up in defeat. "Alright killer, take a breath please . . . no need to inflict unnecessary harm."

"Then refrain from asshole comments and I won't have to destroy you," Sakura retorted, the need to inflict harm upon Deidara still a prominent thought in her head. Of all the things he had to call her, why would he choose that. Only one person called her that, not that she approved of it, but regardless only he was allowed to call her 'princess.'

"Please don't kill senpai Miss Sakura; I've become quite fond of him as my partner," Tobi said, speaking up for the first time, as he had just been observing the vicious confrontation between the two.

"Oh, well excuse me I didn't know you two were together like that," Sakura remarked, a gleam of laughter shone in her eyes at her own clever comment. Deidara's mouth fell agape, while Tobi just gave her a polite bow and entered his room. "Aren't you going to show me to my room already?" Deidara continued to gape at her, and his shameful attempt at defending himself only came out in embarrassed stutters. "Never mind I'll find it on my own," Sakura laughed, pleased that one small comment could make him fall apart so easily. Sakura turned around, albeit the wrong way, and walked straight into a solid mass.

Before she could look at what'd she run into Deidara shouted, "I'm not gay, yeah!" The mass that she had run into began to chuckle slightly, and she quickly backed off.

"Is that what you're trying to convince people now Deidara? I thought you were finally accepting your 'specialness,'" a deep voice spoke behind evident laughter. Sakura finally was able to take in the appearance of the so called "mass" and found that it was an impressively tall man, who somewhat resembled a fish.

"Who's the fish guy?" Sakura asked, looking over her shoulder expecting Deidara to answer her question.

"Hey now Shorty, you don't get to call me 'fish guy,' the name's Kisame," the fish man answered, before the bewildered Deidara was able to speak.

"Ah well, if you plan on calling me Shorty, I plan on calling you Fishy. So I suggest you just get used to it," Sakura spoke, realizing as she did so it was probably a bad idea to provoke someone who was so large. However, rationality seemed to take a back seat when she had to stand up for herself.

"Well, fair enough," Kisame chuckled. "That's quite a feisty one you picked up while you were out Deidara. What have I told you about picking up strays? Have you at least checked to make sure she doesn't have fleas?" The seriousness with which he made that statement had Sakura ready to launch herself at him and wage war, but luckily Deidara grabbed her just in time. "See now we even have to train her. Well, I hope you know this makes her your responsibility."

"Kisame . . . leader is the one who demanded that she be brought here, yeah. If I were you I wouldn't question it. And apologize to her before she bites your head off," Deidara spoke, struggling to hold onto Sakura all the while. Kisame laughed, and smiled at Sakura with his exceedingly pointed teeth.

"I guess if leader see's something in you I won't call you a pet anymore. Ciao Shorty!" Kisame walked into his room before Sakura had a chance to say anything. She realized that was probably as much of an apology as she was ever going to get from him, and decided to take what she could get.

"You know Deidara, I think I've found someone I hate more than you," Sakura said, pushing his arms off of her and walking—the correct way—to her room. Deidara made a move to follow her, but she turned around and quickly declined the unspoken offer. "No, I don't need help unpacking just leave me alone for awhile."

Sakura realized that sounded kind of harsh, considering it was pretty nice of him to stand up to Kisame for her like that—not that she needed the backup . . . she could have taken on that stupid fish if she had been given a chance. Sakura walked to the door on the right side of the hallway, assuming it was hers. She looked over her shoulder to see Deidara confirm, with a small nod of his head, that she had chosen correctly.

Sakura opened the door to her new room, and at least for the time being, to her new life. She took in her surroundings and noticed that the room was slightly nicer than she had expected. The room wasn't elaborately decorated; however, it had all of the essentials. The bed—queen sized if her estimate served her correctly—was pushed against the back wall, and covered in dark blue sheets. It was flanked on either side by small nightstands that held two identical lamps; though they were small, it was better than only seeing by firelight. A dresser was pressed up against the left side of the room, and Sakura chuckled to herself at that realization that it was even larger than her dresser at home. She hadn't expected her living conditions to be so . . . livable. Sakura walked over to her bed and laid down; though she had just woken a few hours before the need for rest hit her like a ton of bricks. She fell back onto a soft pillow, and the wave of exhaustion came on much too quickly for her to even maneuver herself beneath the sheets. Within minutes, Sakura had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The first thing that entered Sakura's sleep fogged mind when she woke was the incredible hunger that roared through her stomach. She looked at the small clock that sat on her nightstand and noticed that it was already past 6pm. She was shocked to find that she had slept half the day away. _'No wonder I'm so hungry . . . I can't seem to remember the last time I ate,'_ she thought, and was out of the door before her mind had even processed that she had moved. She easily found her way down to the kitchen, and rummaged through the refrigerator, hoping something edible would be there.

Sakura was in luck, as it seemed they kept their fridge well stocked. After a short appraisal of her options, her eyes fell onto a carton of eggs and her mind was made up. Sakura began searching through the cupboards for a pan, though her search was stopped short when she felt a horrible mass of chakra in the room.

"I believe this is what you're looking for dear," Kisame spoke, holding a fry pan in his right hand. Before she had even registered it he had not only been able to enter the room, but he had somehow grabbed a fry pan, all without her even knowing he had entered the room in the first place.

"So you enjoy creeping around and scaring the shit out of people huh?" Sakura retorted, reaching her hand out for the pan, which Kisame so kindly chucked at her face; luckily her quick reflexes were able to catch it before the impact occurred. "Thank you kindly, asshole." She wouldn't admit it, but his sudden appearance had her heart thumping in her chest. The fish man was intimidating enough without having to sneak around, but that ability made him all the more deadly, and Sakura definitely took note of that.

"You know, you might wanna be a little bit nicer to me if you're gonna be part of our team and all. We gotta work together Shorty!" Kisame's voice was dripping with sarcasm, a game which Sakura easily picked up on. She cracked the eggs into the fry pan and turned the heat to high, aiming to cook them as fast as humanly possible.

"Oh, I'm so sorry dearest I can't believe I was ever rude to you. You really do seem like such an upstanding young man, I'll make sure to change my attitude towards you in the future," Sakura spoke, giving him one of the fakest smiles she could muster, and went back to fixing her eggs. Kisame smiled wide, the gleam of humor shining in his eyes.

"You amuse me Shorty. Most other kunoichi would have been scared stiff just looking at me . . . But you're different somehow," Kisame spoke, giving her an appreciative smirk.

Sakura smiled to herself, glad that she had been able to hide her feelings of intimidation from him. The sooner she earned respect around here, the easier the mission was going to be. "Ah well, you aren't really that scary. You're really just a big teddy bear aren't you?" Sakura asked, patting him on the arm and taking a seat at the table to eat her eggs

Kisame chuckled and allowed the small action. He could have reprimanded her, but this game between them was going to be too fun and he didn't want to ruin it before it even got a chance to start. Kisame made himself some cereal and took a seat at the table across from Sakura.

"All you're going to eat is cereal?" Sakura questioned, thinking a large man like him needed to be consuming quite a bit more food than that.

"I don't know how to cook, so when Deidara isn't around cereal is the easiest thing to make," Kisame responded.

"So, it's just you, Tobi, and Deidara that live here? I figured your organization would be much larger."

"Yup, just us three . . . well and now you. But we have a few different hideouts located all over the world, but we keep to small groups so we don't all end up murdering one another. Wouldn't be a very good organization if we had no members yah know?"

"Yeah I could see how that would be bad for business," Sakura laughed. She continued to chat with Kisame until she yawned once more. "God I have no idea what's wrong with me . . . I slept half the day away and I'm still tired."

"I'm sure there are many things wrong with you Shorty, but I'll let that go since you made it too easy. But your life took an entirely different turn in the past few days, so it's not shocking that you would be exhausted like that," Kisame spoke, his voice taking a lighter tone.

"Wow Kisame, you really do have a heart!" Sakura laughed. Poking fun at Kisame was never going to get old. "Anyway, thanks for the company but I'm gonna head back to bed." Sakura exited the room before Kisame was able to offer up a creative retort.

As Sakura walked down the sporadically illuminated hallway she saw a dark figure up ahead. Presuming it was Deidara she said, "Nice to see you up and alive lazy bastard." However, as she neared the figure it was clear that it was not Deidara.

"I apologize Miss Sakura but I am not the 'lazy bastard,' as you so call him. My name is Konan, and I'm here to take you to meet Leader." Konan spoke in the most calming voice Sakura had ever heard, and couldn't help but be drawn to what she was saying. Sakura went to apologize for speaking so rudely to someone who seemed so gentle, but Konan raised a hand to silence her. "Please don't be bothered I understand the boys here can be a little . . . bothersome. But please follow me." Konan finished, leading Sakura towards the entrance of the hideout.

"Where exactly are we going?" Sakura questioned.

"I can't disclose that Sakura, but the trip should take about an hour," Konan responded, releasing the genjutsu that covered the entrance, and leading Sakura off to the north. Sakura attempted to memorize her surroundings, but Konan was moving very quickly and keeping up became her main concern. Sakura soon became lost in the thoughts of 'Leader,' and why on earth such a seemingly powerful man would need her—why he would go so far to recruit her. She assumed she would find out soon enough, as Konan began to slow her pace and took a careful inventory of their surroundings. Sakura noticed that they used the same genjutsu technique as a small patch of trees suddenly opened to a pathway.

Sakura followed Konan into the surprisingly well lit hallway; which, only after a minute of walking or so, led straight to a large room. The main thing that stood out in the room was the large bed in the center, with a very frail man lying on it. Konan walked up to the bed and knelt down, giving the man a loving kiss on the forehead before taking his hand in hers.

"Sakura please come over here," Konan spoke in a softer tone than she had used before. As Sakura slowly approached the bed she noticed that the sickly man looked worse the closer she got. He must have been a younger man, but he was skin and bones and covered in wrinkles. Sakura couldn't help but think what kind of horrible situation she had gotten herself into; she may be a great medic but she couldn't create miracles.

"Sakura this is Pain, our leader. I will do most of the talking, as he is much too weak to expend that much energy. The reason we brought you here was because we heard of your great skill as a medic-nin." Pain broke the string of conversation with a heavy cough that caused his entire body to tremor. Konan's grip on his hand tightened while she waited for the coughing spell to be over, and then she continued. "We don't expect you to cure him, as I believe he is beyond that point, but if you could do anything in your power to help him we would be eternally grateful." Konan finished her empowering speech with another loving look at Pain.

"Can you give me an idea of when these symptoms all started? Of what could have caused him to deteriorate like this?" Sakura asked, hoping to get at least a little background on the situation.

"Only in the recent year has he been so bad he couldn't leave his bed. I can't disclose much more than that to you, I apologize," Konan responded, lowering her head in a way that said 'I wish I could tell you everything.' Sakura sighed, having nothing to go on didn't help her diagnosis any, but she was going to have to make it work.

"Okay well take a step back please. I'm going to have to examine him," Sakura spoke, moving closer to the bed, and looking at the truly pained face of Pain. Sakura held her hands over his chest and closed her eyes to increase her level of concentration. Within moments her hands glowed green and the examination began.

What Sakura found in the first few seconds of her investigation was enough for her to pull back and gape in shock. Konan looked at her nervously, waiting for the bad news. "I . . . um . . . How is he alive right now?" Sakura asked, knowing she didn't have time to search for an easier way to word her thoughts. Konan gave her a confused and expectant look, waiting for an explanation. "His chakra levels, I mean . . . they're almost nonexistent. I've never seen this before. Most people when they run low on chakra are able to regenerate it after some rest, but with levels like his I'm truly surprised he's even alive right now."

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Konan asked.

"Give me a moment to think." Sakura's clever mind could only come up with two options—she either helped the leader of the organization she was trying to bring down; or, she exposed herself as a spy and traitor, and lost her life for it. Sakura could think of nothing worse than helping the enemy, but what choice did she have in the matter? Bringing down the leader didn't necessarily mean she would bring down the organization; certainly there would be someone else to act as leader, which meant she would be throwing her life away for nothing. She knew nothing of what they were trying to accomplish, so her death would be entirely useless to her village as they would be no closer to defeating the Akatsuki. As much as she hated the idea, she knew she had to consent to treating him—now she just had to determine the best way to fix him.

She truly had no idea that a situation like this was even possible. Chakra wasn't just a source of energy to be used for ninjutsu; it was also a person's life force, the connection of their physical and spiritual energy that created life. To have your chakra levels run so low . . . and be unable to replenish itself? It was completely perplexing. However, even if he had some sort of disease that prevented him from replenishing his own chakra, that didn't mean he couldn't hold onto it if it was given to him.

"Okay, I have an idea. I have no clue if it will work, but it's his only shot. It's obvious he has been repeatedly exhausting his chakra levels every day for years, because nothing less than chakra use like that would create a condition like this. Also, I believe he may have a disease that is preventing him from replenishing his own chakra. That being said, though he may not be able to replenish it himself, if he is given chakra he may be able to hold onto it."

"Can you give chakra to someone like that?" At Konan's question even Pain gave her a look of confusion.

"It's not as easy as that, but in effect I do believe I may be able to. It won't be simple, as the only way I can do it is to mold my chakra into his and force it to take his chakra's form. If I were to just force my own chakra in his body would reject it, and the outcome would not be favorable," Sakura finished, hoping the severity of his condition resonated with them both. "However, if my plan does work and his body takes to the chakra, I should be able to replenish his body to normal limits. This also takes into account that he uses none of it . . . and I do mean that he can never again use ninjutsu of any sort. If he were to try he would end up right back in this bed, in the same condition he's in now, and possibly worse. If you both understand the risk and the rules of this sort of procedure, I will do my best to make it work." Sakura finished her long explanation, and waited patiently for their decision. Konan squeezed his hand again, and turned her gaze back to Sakura.

"Pain wishes that you do everything in your power to cure him," Konan said, taking another step back to allow Sakura to once again move close to him.

"Okay, I will do my best. This will take some time, especially this first session. I have a lot of work cut out for me, and if this works it will have to be done in weekly sessions so that I'm able to completely replenish my chakra before trying again." Konan nodded in understanding and let Sakura get to work. The unnatural process of trying to force her chakra to become his was incredibly taxing on its own; adding in the fact that she had to almost completely deplete her own chakra reserves and give them to him made the situation all the worse. Sakura worked tirelessly for hours, knowing if she failed her life would be on the line. She didn't for a second forget that Pain and Konan had an entire organization of missing-nin at their disposal, so taking her out would only be too easy.

As it moved into the third hour of work, Sakura brushed the sweat from her brow and pulled back. "I believe I've managed to match his chakra, but there is nothing more I can do for now because I am almost completely drained." Sakura spoke, trying to stabilize herself so as not to fall over. "Come and get me again in a week and I will continue the treatment."

"Thank you Sakura," Konan spoke, and the weight of Konan's words showed heavily in her face. She had never seen a more grateful face in all of her years of healing people. Konan created a small paper bird in her hand, which flew over to Sakura and landed on her shoulder. "Follow it back to the hideout, since I assume you won't be able to find it on your own." Sakura realized she was meant to take her leave, and left as swiftly as possible. Sakura was grateful that the small paper bird kept a slow pace, because at her current level of chakra, she couldn't keep up a normal speed. Her chakra exhaustion caused the one hour trip to turn into a two hour trip, and by the time she had removed the genjutsu to gain entrance, she collapsed as soon as she took a step inside.

"Oh for god's sake, yeah." She heard a foggy voice speak. She attempted to lift her head to see who was talking to her, but the exhaustion prevailed and Sakura fell into blackness.

* * *

Sakura eyes slowly fluttered open and took a moment to fully focus. She moved her head slightly to the right and noticed that she was somehow lying in her bed back in her room. The second thing that registered in her sleep fogged mind was that Deidara was sitting next to her on the bed, his head lolled to one side and his eyes closed. Sakura tried to move her arm to punch him awake, but found that movement was impossible. She sighed, recalling that she had exhausted her chakra levels, and no amount of willpower would enable her to punch Deidara like she so wished.

"Deidara . . ." Sakura spoke softly, attempting to jar him from his nap. "Deidara, wake up . . ." she said, slightly louder this time. She sighed again when she realized none of her calmer attempts were working. "Deidara! Wake the fuck up!" she shouted, and laughed slightly as Deidara bolted up and looked around the room franticly before noticing that Sakura had woken.

"Man bitch, you didn't have to yell so loud, yeah," Deidara said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and glaring at her menacingly.

"You should be glad I can't move right now because punching you awake was my first thought."

"You truly are a loving person Sakura," Deidara quipped, lying back on one of Sakura's pillows. "You should be thankful that I even brought you back here. I could have left you to sleep on the floor in front of the entrance."

"Hey! I never said you could lie in my bed. Go to your own room," Sakura huffed, wishing at this moment she was able to punch him.

"But I'm tired and your bed is quite comfortable. I think I'll just stay here for now. Plus, you can't move . . . so what are you going to do about it?" Deidara spoke, using the cockiest tone of voice Sakura had ever heard, and shifting himself until he found a more comfortable position.

"I swear to god if you touch me you'll find your balls gone in the morning," Sakura warned, shutting her eyes to avoid having to see his face.

"Of course dearest . . . I wouldn't expect anything less from you." A few minutes of silence passed before Deidara spoke again. "So, what happened to make you like this? I mean . . . what did Leader want with you? I'm surprised you were even able to make it back here in the condition you're in," Deidara spoke, attempting to keep the concern out of his voice; however, Sakura caught it easily.

"I can't tell you Deidara, I'm sorry. I think Leader would have my head if I spoke of it. But don't worry I'll be fine."

"I wasn't worried, yeah. Don't be an idiot, I was just curious," Deidara said, turning to hide his face from view. Sakura imagined he was blushing, and giggled slightly.

"By the way Deidara . . . thanks for bringing me back here. You didn't have to do that," she spoke, hoping her gratefulness was expressed in her words.

"It was nothing, yeah, I just happened to be walking by when you came back. It's not like I was out looking for you or anything . . . you just got lucky." Sakura smiled. She knew she should have forced him to leave, but his presence somehow made her feel safe. As silly as it seemed, she felt like she could trust him . . . like he wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt her.

"Goodnight Deidara," Sakura spoke, finally allowing her eyes to fall shut. Deidara mumbled something that vaguely sounded like 'night' and with that, Sakura fell asleep for what seemed like the tenth time today.

* * *

Sasuke had searched all over town for that idiot brother of his. He had been sulking for the past few days, and it was up to Sasuke to fix the problem. No one else wanted to be charged with dealing with an emotional Uchiha, as the consequences were never favorable. Sasuke sighed envisioning how the conversation was going to go. Sasuke would attempt to talk sense into his brother, and Itachi would leave—refusing to listen. It was a family trait that Uchiha's didn't know how to take advice from anyone, so Sasuke felt he couldn't really blame Itachi.

As Sasuke was returning back to the Uchiha compound after an unsuccessful search for Itachi, he finally noticed him sitting on one of the tallest buildings in the compound. _'Of course he would be the last place I check,'_ Sasuke thought, annoyed with himself for not looking there first. He used his transport jutsu to appear next to Itachi, and then the fun began.

"Itachi, what are you doing all the way up here," Sasuke spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Nothing in particular little brother, I'm just thinking," Itachi replied. His cryptic response made Sasuke sigh in frustration.

"Itachi . . . you need to snap out of this, it's unsightly. No amount of sulking on a roof is going to bring her back. You have to accept that we all drove her to do this . . . just trust that she's going to be okay."

"You don't worry about her?" Itachi questioned.

"Of course I do you idiot . . . Sakura is family to me. But what Sakura needs is for her friends to support her, and be there for her when she returns. Excessive worrying on all of our parts is what made her leave in the first place, and I thought you of all people would understand that," Sasuke said poignantly. Itachi sighed and rested his head on his hands.

"I do understand that, but . . . Sasuke you don't understand . . ."

"Itachi for a genius you really are an idiot. Everyone knows that you love her; well, everyone expect for Sakura of course. She's always been a little dense in that department."

"Don't talk about something that you don't understand Sasuke. This is none of your business. Leave me alone," Itachi said, quickly transporting himself anywhere but here before Sasuke could utter anything more. Sasuke shook his head slightly. He should have known his brother would react that way—he never took kindly to people pointing out things about his personal life.

Itachi knew he had to snap out of it, but he was experiencing something he'd never felt before. He generally tried to avoid unnecessary emotions, but Sakura had taken that part of him and slowly ripped it to pieces. From the very first moment he met her she had somehow managed to make him feel these previously unknown emotions; and as the years went on those emotions only got stronger. And he had become—over their long years together—accustomed to the feelings that she elicited in him like no one else could. But this new feeling was one he had never experienced . . . helplessness. Itachi was strong, as strong as they come, and he had never been in a situation where he was completely helpless. He had always been there to save her if she needed it, or to watch over her for his own sanity. But now . . . now she was alone and there was nothing he could do about it. It angered him, frightened him, and there seemed to be no quick fix. He had to be patient, and all who knew Itachi knew that patience wasn't a quality that he possessed.

And to make matters worse he had gone so far as to kiss her before she left. He didn't know what prompted him to do that, it just happened. She was leaving and he had to do something, had to convince her somehow not to leave. He thought back to his conversation with Sasuke . . . 'love' he had said. Did Itachi love Sakura? Itachi sighed again and decided he needed to stop thinking about it. These thoughts were making him crazy, and as an ANBU operative for Konoha he always had to be on top of his game. He would let these thoughts go for now, and he would somehow trust that Sakura knew what she was doing . . . that she was going to be safe.

"Don't get yourself killed idiot," Itachi spoke to no one in particular, and made his way back home.

* * *

**AN:** And there you have it! I hope you guys loved it and please let me know what you thought! Till next time . . . Ja ne!


	6. The Dream

**Smoke and Mirrors**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, all rights to Masashi Kishimoto, and I make no money from this story.

**AN: **I'm so sorry guys! I really tried to get this chapter out last weekend but with exams it just wasn't going to happen. If you guys didn't see the edit in the last chapter please go and read the AN. Quick random aside . . . I started using this program called liquid story binder and it's amazing! It's a program specifically created for novelists and it's just . . . awesome. I always have such a problem organizing my thoughts and everything on Microsoft word, but this program just kicks ass. So, go check it out if you're interested. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter =). Oh, and I changed the summary which you guys may or may not have noticed. It's not really that important but I think the new summary is a little more descriptive of what the story is actually about since I changed it quite a bit since I started.

* * *

Chapter Six: The Dream

Sakura shot up in her bed; skin covered in sweat and her head reeled from the nightmare that had awakened her so abruptly. Her hand quickly went to her heart, as if holding onto her chest could somehow make the pain go away. She gasped for air as a single tear zigzagged its way down her cheek and fell to the blankets below. Sakura took a few more cleansing breaths and willed the horrible feelings of paranoia from her consciousness. Once she had sufficiently calmed herself, her eyes searched for the clock on her nightstand. '6:45am' it read—too early to properly function. Sakura frantically looked around her room, as if there was some unknown intruder, though her thorough search found nothing suspicious. She absentmindedly recalled that Deidara had fallen asleep with her, but was now nowhere to be found. She laid back down and pulled the covers up to her chin, willing herself to fall back into a pleasant slumber.

After a few minutes Sakura realized that no amount of willingness on her part would allow her to sleep. She rolled to her side and looked at those glaring red numbers—6:50am. She threw her head back onto her pillow and sighed in defeat. Sakura had never been a morning person, as her teammates could easily attest to, nor had she ever really had nightmares. She could vaguely recall a few times as a young child where she had suffered from nightmares, but with everything she had seen and done nightmares had always been the least of her problems. Her dreams had always been her safe haven from the horrors of reality. _'Maybe a shower will make me feel better,"_ Sakura thought, rolling out of bed and suddenly feeling the excessive need to be clean. Sakura quietly closed her bedroom door, hoping she wouldn't wake anyone, and made her way down to the bathroom.

Sakura opened the bathroom door without thought, and suddenly thanked god that no one was in there. She had easily forgotten that she lived with people now, and knocking on a bathroom door before entering was a common courtesy. She shut the door behind her and searched for the lock to no avail. _'What kind of bathroom door doesn't have a lock?'_ Sakura thought angrily, contemplating her next move. Showering was a necessity, but so was keeping her privacy. She sighed, and hoped that since she was awake so early she wouldn't have any problems.

Sakura quickly stripped her clothes away and stepped into the cool stream of water. She always liked to start her showers a little cooler, as it helped to jump start her morning wake up routine. She smiled to herself as she recalled all the times Kakashi and Naruto had thrown buckets of ice water on her in the morning. She couldn't recall one mission where she had been saved from the icy treatment. She supposed she deserved it a little; she never could wake up in the mornings, and Kakashi and Naruto thought the best way to remedy her problem was a loving treatment of ice water. Sasuke had always stood by and smirked at her piercing scream as the water made contact with her warm skin—though he had never actively taken part. Sakura had always taken her revenge somehow, and their games had become routine on nearly every mission they ever had. Sakura turned the water to hot and proceeded in washing the dirt from her body. She let her mind wander as the hot water washed over her body, soothing her sore muscles, and didn't notice the sound of the door opening.

"Man Deidara, you sure are up early," Kisame's voice spoke sleepily. Sakura's eyes widened as she snapped out of her pleasurable reverie.

Sakura stuck her head out of the curtain and said, "Kisame! What the hell are you doing just barging into the bathroom like this? I'm naked! Get out, get out, get out!" Sakura turned beet red and pulled the curtain back into place, rushing through the last of her shower.

Kisame laughed. "Oh, my bad Shorty I just figured you were Deidara. I forgot we have a lovely new female companion who prefers to shower in privacy."

"Wait," Sakura spoke, stopping him in his tracks. "Are you telling me you frequently shower with Deidara?" Sakura asked as convincingly as possible, unable to help joking about his sexuality.

"Well we are an organization full of males, Sakura. We have to get some enjoyment out of it somehow," Kisame replied, with the most honest voice he could muster. He should have suspected that was coming with the way he joked about Deidara's sexuality the day before, but he decided to play along knowing it would aggravate Deidara to no end. "It's a good thing I realized it was you before it was too late. Deidara doesn't like to share." Sakura was completely awed at Kisame's ability to speak as if everything was so 'matter-of-fact.'

"So he's actually cheating on Tobi with you?" Sakura questioned, reaching her hand out for a towel, which Kisame so kindly placed in her hand. Once she was fully covered she stepped out of the shower and came face to face with Kisame.

"Well, Deidara is kind of a whore, but don't tell him I said that," Kisame whispered, as if this were some deep, dark secret. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at that. Kisame had such a knack for humor.

"I'm so going to give him hell for this," Sakura laughed, plucking her clothes from the counter and leaving the bathroom to Kisame. "See you in a bit." Sakura went back to her room and changed as swiftly as possible, her stomach growling all the while. With all the time she spent sleeping, along with the chakra exhaustion, it was no wonder her stomach rumbled with hunger. With her current level of starvation, the walk to the kitchen seemed to take an eternity, though when she finally arrived she couldn't help but laugh at the sight in front of her.

Deidara stood, his back turned to her, at the stove—seemingly in the process of cooking; while Kisame waited patiently at the table for his food to be served. "Well aren't you two just the picture of domestic perfection?" Sakura remarked, laughing aloud while she took a seat across from Kisame.

"Har, har," Deidara replied. "Food's done . . . come and get it, yeah." Sakura and Kisame rose to serve themselves before rejoining Deidara at the table.

"So Deidara . . ." Sakura spoke, attempting to create an air of suspense. Deidara took a small bite of food and gave her a curious look while chewing cautiously. "So I hear you're quite the whore." The nonchalance with which she spoke made Sakura want to pat herself on the back. Sakura tried her best to hold back the laughter as Deidara choked on his food. He reached for his glass of water and downed the whole thing within seconds, gasping for breath as his airways were finally cleared.

"What . . . the . . . fuck," Deidara said pointedly, eyes wide as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kisame lowered his head while their interaction was taking place, hoping to be left out of the whole thing. He liked to poke fun at Deidara, but if looks could kill Sakura would be dead ten times over by now.

"Oh, maybe I heard wrong? Maybe you should ask Kisame about it. He's the one who told me," Sakura spoke. Again the incessant need to pat herself on the back came roaring back. She loved causing havoc, and these two had such great reactions who could blame her?

"Kisame what the shit, yeah! What have you been telling Pinky here?" Deidara questioned, anger still raging in his eyes.

"Calm down Deidara, she's just trying to rile you up," Kisame spoke, his voice somehow remaining calm; while inside he was laughing just as hard as Sakura was. "Just eat your breakfast." Deidara frowned, but quickly went back to shoveling food in his mouth. Sakura stared at him for a moment before noticing something on his hand. She quickly reached out to grab him, but was met with quite the resistance.

"What the hell Pinky . . . Don't touch me," Deidara spoke, yanking his hand back and cradling it against his chest as if he had been burned by her touch.

"I'm not going to do anything just give it here," Sakura replied, reaching her hand out for his. He studied her for a moment before relenting and shyly holding out his hand for her inspection. Sakura took hold of his wrist and turned his hand over to examine his palm. Her eyes widened as she moved her head closer, as if she had somehow imaged what she was seeing. She traced her finger along the row of pointed teeth, wondering what kind of jutsu this was. She was brought out of her thoughts when those pointed teeth suddenly chomped down on her finger, causing her to recoil with a pained hiss.

"You bit me!" Sakura shouted, staring at her finger as a small amount of blood dripped down her appendage and landed on the table. "What the fuck you asshole." Deidara laughed in response, feeling like he had sufficiently taken the revenge he so deserved.

"Watch out there Pinky these hands have a mind of their own," Deidara said, holding his hands up for her to see—the two mouths on his hands giving her the eeriest smiles she had ever seen. Deidara expected Sakura to be completely disgusted, but the look of intrigue on her face left him at a loss for words.

"That's fascinating," Sakura said, a twinkle of curiosity shining in her eyes as she reached for his hand again. "How does it work?" Deidara let her examine his hands once again; this time, without biting her.

"It might be easier to show you than to explain it," Deidara said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small pouch. He grabbed a small glob of white clay and held it up for Sakura to see. She gave him a curious look, but said nothing. Deidara proceeded to place the clay into the mouth on his right hand and Sakura watched as the mouth chomped hungrily for a few seconds before spitting out what looked like a small clay bird.

The bird waddled over to Sakura and jumped onto her outstretched hand. "So, you infuse chakra with clay to make living art?" Sakura questioned, still examining the bird that sat peacefully in her hand.

"Sort of," Deidara remarked, smiling mysteriously before whispering something that Sakura didn't quite catch. Before she knew it the bird had exploded in her hand, leaving a small burn mark in its wake. Sakura recoiled, pulling her hand to her chest and nursing the small wound. Kisame couldn't help but laugh a little at the look of rage that crossed Sakura's features.

"Dammit Deidara! What the hell is your problem? You know, you could have shown that to me without burning my hand you jerk," Sakura seethed, knowing this must be payback for her comments to him earlier. Sakura gave him another death glare as she healed the small burn.

"You can't blame me, yeah. It was just a perfect opportunity to use my art to have some fun," Deidara responded, as he stood to drop his plate into the sink. "Plus, you can heal yourself just fine . . . don't act like it actually hurt that badly."

"Just because I can heal myself doesn't mean you can attack me whenever you feel the need," Sakura remarked, throwing her plate at the back of his head. Luckily for Deidara he caught it just in time, and placed it gently into the sink.

"Now, now Pinky. Don't go destroying our dishes just because you're a little pissed that I tricked you," Deidara quipped as Kisame added his plate to the developing pile in the sink. Deidara washed them off a little, but left them in the sink to deal with them later.

"Well, that was fun," Kisame stated, finally speaking up. "Shorty if you have that much anger why don't you take it out by sparring with Deidara."

"While kicking his ass into next week sounds like a phenomenal plan, I'm still too low on chakra to do much," Sakura sighed, slightly irked that she couldn't use this perfect opportunity to get some well deserved pay back. "However, I wouldn't mind watching the two of you go at it." Kisame smirked, obviously itching to get out of the hideout.

"Well, how about it Deidara? We haven't sparred in . . . forever. Could be fun."

"I'm game, yeah."

Sakura smiled at their willingness to spar, since this would be the perfect opportunity to gauge their strengths. The first step in defeating your enemy is knowing what you're up against. The three of them quickly made their way outside and they all took their respective places—Sakura sitting beneath the shade of a nearby tree, and Kisame and Deidara standing on the water facing one another.

"Okay guys!" Sakura called, "Just fight with taijutsu . . . I don't need you destroying the entire hideout." Sakura looked between the two to make sure they understood the rules, and gave them the signal to start. The second that Sakura had given the word Kisame and Deidara became blurs of motion. They moved with unmatched speed, rushing at one another before jumping away and repeating the process. She squinted her eyes slightly, trying to focus in on their movements. She noticed that Deidara seemed to have the upper hand in speed, but Kisame's size gave him a strength advantage. It was truly a brilliant sight watching two incredible ninja fight one another, and it reminded her fondly of Itachi and Kakashi. Sakura winced slightly as she noticed Kisame land a hard kick right in Deidara's stomach, which sent him flying backwards like a rag doll.

"Hah! Finally gotcha you crafty little shit," Kisame laughed aloud, knowing he was gaining the upper hand. Not about to be outdone, Deidara pulled out some clay from his pocket and began to fire bombs in Kisame's general direction.

"Who's got who now?" Deidara yelled back, continuing the onslaught. Sakura immediately jumped up, knowing she should stop the fight. They had just begun and were already breaking the rules she had set down just minutes prior. They weren't meant to use anything other than taijutsu, but it seemed that Deidara's anger got the best of him.

When the smoke cleared away Sakura noticed that Kisame was nowhere to be seen, which caused her to stop in her tracks. _He was there a second ago!'_ she thought. _'Where could he have gone?'_ Sakura's question was answered a moment later when Kisame came bursting from the water underneath Deidara, wrapping his arms around him, and pulling him below the crystal blue waters. Sakura knew this fight was beginning to get out of hand when neither of them came up for a minute.

When they finally resurfaced, Deidara gasping for much needed breath, Sakura ran to them as quickly as her chakra enhanced legs would allow. She roughly grabbed their wrists and threw them to opposite sits of the pond.

"Enough!" she shouted, hoping her stern tone of voice got her point across. "I said taijutsu only you fucking idiots. You really can't control yourselves can you?" Sakura wasn't sure how to take this. Deidara and Kisame weren't just strong, they fought to kill without hesitation. Even in simple sparring sessions, their intent wasn't just to beat their opponent, it was to annihilate them—and truth be told, it terrified her.

* * *

"I've told you Itachi, there are no missions for you to go on right now. Unless you want to catch some stray cats, I suggest you calm down and wait until something comes up," Tsunade explained. Itachi had come to her for what felt like the tenth time in the span of a few days and continued to demand missions.

Itachi waited a moment to see if Tsunade would bend; however, she went back to her work and was easily ignoring him. He sighed and moved to leave her office, knowing there was nothing he could do about it. As he walked down the streets of Konoha he noticed Kakashi sitting on a bench, Icha Icha ever present in his hands.

"Yo," Kakashi said, waving slightly in Itachi's direction. Itachi wasn't entirely sure he wanted to deal with the copy-nin at this moment; though, he had nothing better to do so he relented. He sat in silence for a while with Kakashi, and it seemed to calm his nerves a little. That was the one good thing about Kakashi—he knew when to shut up and just offer his company.

"So, Tsunade wouldn't give you any missions huh?" Kakashi questioned knowingly after a few minutes of silence.

"Nah," Itachi replied, sighing in annoyance. "There has to be something going on . . . something to do other than just sit around all day doing nothing."

"Maybe you should take advantage of the break. It's not often that we actually get a small holiday," Kakashi offered, obviously taking full advantage of the lack of missions.

"Man Kakashi, you're just as lazy as Shikamaru you know that?"

"I wouldn't call it laziness per se . . . let's just say I know how to appreciate a calm and quiet day." Itachi scoffed at his answer.

"You can add all the pretty words you want Kakashi . . . It's still laziness no matter which way you look at it," Itachi responded, giving Kakashi a knowing look. There was a small glimmer of amusement in Kakashi's eyes before he went back to reading.

"Well, maybe Naruto and Sasuke will offer more entertainment," Kakashi replied, turning a page and directing his full attention back to his book. Itachi said nothing but decided it was time to take his leave. Itachi continued his way down the street, wandering in no particular direction. He knew he didn't want to deal with his brother and the idiot, as it was too much work being around those two for any length of time. Part of him considered Sakura a saint for being able to put up with it for so long without losing her mind.

'_Maybe Shikamaru will be up for a game of Shogi,"_ Itachi thought, changing his direction and hoping that his mind would be sufficiently distracted by the strategic game.

As Itachi made his way to Shikamaru's, Naruto and Sasuke collapsed on the dirt covered ground after another round of heated sparring. Their battles had always started out innocently enough, though neither knew when to give in, as admitting defeat was not a quality either nin possessed.

"Hah, I beat you that time bastard," Naruto mocked, lying back on the ground and breathing heavily, the damp dirt soiling his clothes slightly—though it went unnoticed by him. Leave it to Naruto to still be able to talk shit after an exhausting battle.

"Shut it, idiot . . . you didn't beat me," Sasuke countered, refusing to admit defeat so easily. "You cheated."

"What the hell bastard! I definitely beat you fair and square. Just admit you lost."

"Never."

"That's it! I'm going to beat the shit out of you and force you to admit that I won," Naruto responded, jumping up as if his previous exhaustion had somehow flown out of him. Sasuke stood as well, not about to be outdone by his hyperactive friend.

"Bring it," Sasuke said, giving Naruto the cockiest smirk he could manage; and, once again, their never-ending battle began.

An hour later, Naruto and Sasuke completely collapsed, as neither were able to attack anymore. "Let's just call it a draw," Sasuke stated, breathing heavily as he spoke the words. Naruto nodded his head in reply, too exhausted to argue anymore. Their fights generally ended with them conceding a draw, as neither was ever willing to give up, and they fought to complete exhaustion.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said, after a few minutes of silence. Sasuke turned his head in Naruto's direction to show that he was paying attention, but gave no reply.

"Do you miss Sakura?" And there it was, the mention of Sakura.

"Of course I do, idiot. She's like a sister to me," Sasuke responded, turning his head to gaze up at the cloudless blue sky.

"Do you think she's alright?" That question seemed to be weighing heavily on everyone's mind as of late.

"You know Naruto, if Sakura knew you were questioning her like this she'd kick your ass into next week, and enjoy every second of it." Naruto sighed. Even if Sasuke's statement was true it didn't ease his worry. "Of course she's alright," Sasuke said, figuring he needed to appease his idiot otherwise he'd never hear the end of it. "You and everyone else seem to be forgetting Sakura's abilities. She's been on every mission we've been on. She's seen and done everything we have. Sakura's not the same girl she was when she was twelve. She's perfectly capable of handling the situation. Don't worry so much."

"You say that like it's easy," Naruto sighed.

"Ugh, come on Naruto. Stop acting like Itachi . . . I can only take so much of this constant brooding before I go crazy." Naruto laughed a little at that.

"Itachi's been going a little crazy huh?" Naruto questioned, smiling again. It was a rare sight to see Itachi come unglued, as he generally had been trained against it. Naruto could imagine that Itachi showing any emotion other than mockery would be a sight.

"You have no idea," Sasuke responded. "It's a little ridiculous. He keeps bugging Tsunade to give him missions so he doesn't have to sit around. He's not handling it very well."

"You think that he loves Sakura?" Naruto questioned, once again opening his mouth with no regard to what he was actually saying.

"Of course he does," Sasuke replied, shocking Naruto with his candid answer. "I don't think he's ready to admit it, but he does. Itachi's never loved anyone before . . . I don't think he knows how. But he'll figure it out. Eventually."

Sasuke and Naruto continued to lay on the ground and stare up at the sky. No more words were spoken, as they were both lost in thought. Neither would ever admit to Sakura how worried they were, but it was a weird feeling being on the training ground without her scolding them for fighting too rough. Naruto and Sasuke eased their minds with the thought that she'd be home soon—she had to be.

* * *

_-A Week Later-_

Sakura stumbled down the dark hallway, trying her best to focus her sleep fogged mind on her goal—getting back to her room. The nightmares that had been plaguing her each night made getting a complete rest almost impossible. It wasn't uncommon for her to wake twice a night, a scream caught in her throat and tears streaming down her cheeks. She could never remember what had frightened her so much, because as soon as she woke it all became a messy fog of indirect fear. Sakura wasn't a stranger to being exhausted much of the time—as a medic-nin it was generally a common occurrence—but it was a new feeling for her to be afraid of falling asleep. As she stumbled through the corridor she was almost to the point of considering curling up on the hard stone floor, as making it to her room seemed entirely impossible. Just as Sakura was about to give in to the temptation of sleep she saw a flash of blue hair out of her peripheral.

Konan.

'_Shit,'_ Sakura thought, _'She truly couldn't have worse timing.'_ Sakura blinked a few times, attempting to focus her blurry vision. Konan didn't speak, just gave Sakura a look that said, _'Follow me.'_ Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples, knowing she would have to follow Konan despite her intense exhaustion. Sakura gave Konan a small nod to express her understanding of the situation, and proceeded to follow her on the hour long trip to where Pain resided. Sakura knew she should have been keeping track of the days, but she had been so caught up lately in adjusting to her new life that it seemed like just yesterday that she had met Pain for the first time.

Her thoughts ran back to Deidara and Kisame. They weren't truly nice to her, but they weren't cruel either. It was a weird sort of agreement that they had all come to. They bantered back and forth like married couples, and Sakura felt comforted by that fact. Her relationship with Deidara and Kisame so deeply mirrored her relationship with Naruto and Sasuke that their presence brought her comfort. She felt as if she hadn't left home at all, as if they were still with her somehow. Sakura never thought that being away from her family for only two weeks would cause her such pain—but she had to be strong . . . She could make it through this.

Sakura was pulled from her thoughts when Konan finally slowed her pace, and Sakura once again took in her surroundings—the familiar scenery welcoming her back. Sakura was once again led to Pain's chamber, and was surprised to see that he had been moved to a half sitting position.

"Pain I told you to lie down," Konan scolded. "You don't have enough strength to sit like that you idiot. Stop pushing yourself so much." Konan rushed over to his bed and moved him, once again, to a flat position.

"Don't be an idiot Konan," his raspy voice spoke, followed by a fit of coughs. Sakura stood back and watched the scene that played out in front of her. Last week he couldn't even speak, and now he was capable of forming a whole sentence before the coughs took over. Sakura was truly blown away that her treatment had actually begun to work so quickly. Konan gave him a death glare, as if daring him to question her authority, and Sakura saw that he rolled his eyes slightly, though he remained silent. Sakura couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her lips, and she quickly muffled the sound by throwing her hands over her mouth, hoping they hadn't heard. Konan turned to face her finally, giving her a questioning look.

"I apologize, you two are quite amusing. You act like a married couple," Sakura responded in explanation of her small outburst. Konan smiled slightly in understanding.

"Please begin, Sakura," Konan spoke again, moving away from Pain a little to allow Sakura access. Sakura bowed her head slightly and took a few steps forward, and allowed her chakra to begin it's exploration. It seems that her hard work the week prior had paid off slightly, as she could feel a stronger chakra signal from Pain. Though it was still exceedingly low, it was better than it had been.

"He seems to have improved slightly from last week," Sakura explained. "Though it will still be quite some time before he will be up and moving around, I can safely say that my treatment has been a success thus far." Konan nodded her head in understanding and gave Sakura signal to continue with the treatment. Sakura took a deep, rejuvenating breath, and forced the exhaustion from her body. Now was not the time to slip up because of sleep deprivation. Though Konan and Pain had been cordial to her thus far, she knew that would be gone in an instant if she made the smallest mistake. She took another few moments to compose herself, before allowing her chakra to, once again, course through his body—and thus, the painstaking work began once again.

After two hours of work Sakura pulled back and collapsed suddenly as a wave of vertigo hit her like a ton of bricks. She fell out of the small chair that she had been sitting in, and her head roughly connected with the floor. Pain shot through her entire body as she tried to focus her vision. "I'm sorry," Sakura spoke, unable to say anything more as unconsciousness finally took her. Konan looked to Pain to make sure that she had not hurt him in any way, and once she deemed him to be fine, she decided to take pity on the pink haired medic. Sakura had been exhausted when Konan went to retrieve her in the first place, but the fact the she had worked tirelessly for two hours impressed Konan. Granted, this level of dedication was what they expected of her. However, Konan knew she had to return Sakura so that Deidara and Kisame remained blissfully unaware of the situation. Konan pressed a small kiss to Pain's forehead as sleep finally took him, and she reached down to Sakura and cradled her in her arms. Konan took her leave, running Sakura back to the hideout as swiftly as she was able.

After the hour long trip, Konan finally reached the waterfall, released the genjutsu and stepped inside the dark hallway. She was hoping she'd be able to drop Sakura into her room and leave without being noticed; however, luck was not on her side tonight.

"What did you do to her Konan?" Deidara asked, stepping into the light as if he had been waiting for Sakura to return.

"That is none of your concern Deidara. Sakura was a little tired, so I brought her back. That is all." The Konan that spoke to Deidara was a completely different Konan. Her voice was harsh and unyielding, and it demanded respect. Deidara sighed, knowing he could not question her if he wanted to live. He reached out his arms to take Sakura as Konan deposited her in his waiting embrace. He gave her one last disproving glance before turning around and walking down the hallway towards his and Sakura's rooms. Deidara looked at the small girl he held in his arms. She was much more peaceful when she was asleep, he decided. It was probably due to the fact that she was unable to open that awful mouth of hers to yell insults at him. He smiled to himself and decided to relish in this sweet, untarnished moment.

Deidara entered Sakura's room and moved to place her softly onto the bed, hoping not to disturb her slumber. As he moved away to return to his own room, Sakura's arms reached up and grabbed onto the hem of his shirt.

"Stay," she whispered. Deidara turned around to question her when he noticed that she was still fast asleep. He shook her hand off of him and once again attempted to move away from her. "Please," she whispered once again. Deidara sighed, and turned around to look at her slightly pained face. He knew he should have gotten out of her room as fast as possible, but it saddened him to see that the peaceful look had left her features. He decided it wouldn't hurt to lie next to her for awhile—hopefully then he could sneak out and leave her to her sleep.

As he moved to lie next to her she instinctually moved towards his warmth, curling her arms around his chest. Deidara looked down at the small girl that was curled against his side and he couldn't help himself from smiling once again. _'She's going to regret this in the morning,'_ Deidara thought, unable to keep the desire to rub this in her face later at bay. Sakura was one tough kunoichi and it didn't seem she wanted comforting from anyone. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and she liked to let others know it. Deidara could imagine very few were able to lie so close to such a deadly kunoichi without the feeling of impending doom.

Deidara moved himself into a more comfortable position and decided that shutting his eyes for a little bit would be alright. _'What's the worst that could happen,'_ he thought, before following Sakura into a deep, pleasant slumber.

* * *

It could have been minutes or hours when Deidara woke again, this time to a blood-curdling scream. His eyes flew open and he reached to the bedside table where he generally kept a plethora of weapons. It took him a moment of running his hands over the smooth wood to remember that he wasn't in his own room—he was in Sakura's. He hoped and prayed that the scream wasn't hers, as he hadn't planned for her to find him lying in her bed . . . this wasn't going to go well.

He finally forced his eyes to look in Sakura's direction, and he found her holding her arms around herself and breathing heavily—she looked like she was truly in the worst kind of pain. He looked at her a moment longer before realizing that she hadn't even noticed he was there.

"Sakura," Deidara whispered, hoping to peacefully draw her out of the state she was in without scaring her. When she failed to respond Deidara tried again. "Hey Sakura . . . are you alright?" Sakura blinked her eyes a few times, seemingly realizing that she was actually awake. Her eyes flashed over to Deidara for a few moments, though her brain seemed unable to process that he was sitting next to her . . . on her bed. Deidara waited a moment, knowing her brain was going to catch up with the situation. Part of him considered moving off the bed, so as to be as far away from her as possible when she finally came to; though, he decided moving would probably put him in more danger than staying still would.

"Deidara?" Sakura questioned, finally addressing him.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Why are you in my bed?" The question was short, and filled with apathy rather than the anger he expected.

"Konan brought you back here half dead," he explained. "And I guess I accidently fell asleep . . . I'm sorry?" he tried, hoping that explanation would do. Sakura didn't seem to be in a proper enough mental state to handle bantering with him, so he fudged the truth a bit. Sakura seemed to give his words a quick thought, before nodding her head slightly as if she understood.

"Sakura, are you okay?" He couldn't keep the question from falling from his lips. To say that she was out of it was an understatement. Though he hadn't known Sakura for very long, it had been long enough to know that Sakura wasn't this easily shaken. Though, right now, she was acting like an entirely different person—one that he was unable to recognize.

"I don't know," she replied honestly. She moved to lie back down with her back facing Deidara, hiding her face from his view.

"You have a nightmare?" he pressed.

"I think so," she responded, giving another short answer. Deidara sighed, he had never been good at this whole "talking without insulting" thing and she was making it even more difficult.

"Do you want to talk about it?" If she said no he'd just let it go and leave. She was strong . . . She could deal with this on her own. There was silence for a few moments before Sakura began to speak.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she started, pausing again for a minute to gather her thoughts. "I've never had nightmares before . . . I don't even know what they're about. I just . . . I wake up feeling like someone has just stabbed me in my heart. The pain, it's unbearable."

"I can stay with you until you fall asleep if that will help," Deidara offered, not sure of what else to say. Dealing with an emotional kunoichi was not one of his strong suits. Sakura nodded her head slightly, signaling that she did indeed want him to stay. She continued to lie with her back facing him, but just knowing there was someone there calmed her nerves a little, and allowed her to fall back into a somewhat pleasant slumber.

Deidara looked at Sakura as her breathing slowed, and sleep once again took her. Once she was sufficiently asleep, Deidara let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He slowly moved from her bed, making as little noise as possible. He stood at the door before giving Sakura one last glance. _'Please sleep peacefully,'_ he thought, quietly opening the door and taking his leave.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, at that exact moment someone else had awoken from a very similar nightmare. Itachi rested his head on his hands, willing himself to erase the feelings of dread that filled his entire body and caused it to tremor. He snapped his eyes shut, forcing himself back into a turbulent, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**AN:** So, I know this chapter didn't have that much in the way of story progression, but it was necessary. Please let me know what you thought! I hope you guys still enjoyed it! Till next time . . . Ja ne!


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